A California judge is under fire for being insensitive to minor transgender teenagers who wish to change their legal names and genders. According to the Liljestrand family of Los Angeles, when they appeared in court with their 14-year-old to get approval for the changes, Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton asked the teen how she knew she was a girl and then said: “Convince me.”
The teen – born a boy, but identifying as a girl – wanted to change her name to Melissa Rose and apparently became so distraught over the judge’s insensitivity she collapsed. Los Angeles Times reports:
At one point, Melissa began crying and was granted a brief recess. Sobbing, she put her hands over her face and fainted, hitting her head on the jury box as she crumpled to the ground. Her parents panicked, but she was determined to continue.
Judge Moreton, according to the parents, told the teen she “looked and sounded like a boy,” wearing boy’s clothing. Dressed in a pair of jeans, flannel shirt, and Doc Marten shoes, Melissa told the judge: “Clothing doesn’t have a gender.”
Except, of course, when you go to purchase clothes. Pick a clothing store: they all have sections segregated by gender. Of course, how long that will be the case is anyone’s guess. Soon, women’s undergarments may well be mixed in with men’s in the left’s continuous effort to make everyone the same. But we digress.
The overly dramatic way the teen reacted to “delicate” questions should be a clanging bell of warning. She is not emotionally ready to make such a life-altering decision. Retired judge Reva G. Goetz told the LA Times that it’s important to be sensitive while on the bench, but that “judges often must ask probing – even uncomfortable – questions before making a ruling, especially in cases involving minors.”
Current California law requires a doctor’s note before anyone can legally change their gender status. Judge Moreton asked if the teen had undergone appropriate clinical treatment and if the letter stating such was from a “real doctor.”
Currently, a name change requires a court appearance. However, starting next year, people will no longer have to go to court for a name or gender change – as long as they can prove they are not trying to run from paying a debt:
“…so long as there is no proof the person is seeking to escape debt or a warrant. It also creates a nonbinary gender designation — neither exclusively male nor female — for official state documents. And it strikes the requirement that a doctor affirm that a patient has undergone treatment for a gender transition.”
After several pointed questions and a few remarks that apparently insulted the family, the judge did grant the teen her request. However, he also had one final warning: It’s “just a piece of paper,” he said of the changes. “It does not make you a woman … Now you’re just going to have a lot more problems than other people.”
Insensitive? Possibly, but not nearly as traumatizing as what rape victims have to go through to testify against their attackers. This new generation of entitled, confused, and overly sensitive young adults are going to have a difficult time in the world if a teen fainting from a few insensitive questions is any indication. The left is not helping future generations become independent and strong individuals. Instead, they’re teaching them to cry foul at every perceived insult. Throw a fit, scream in outrage, and wail until they get their way.
