Brave trans girls receives death threats after shaming lawmakers for ‘attacking’ her rights
Actor and trans activist Kai Shappley testifies before the Texas state affairs committee on 12 April 2021. (Twitter/Meghan Stabler)
Kai Shappley, a trans girl who testified against an anti-trans bill before Texas lawmakers, has begun receiving death threats for speaking out, her mother has said.
The fourth-grader passionately spoke before the Texas state affairs committee on 12 April against a bill to effectively ban gender-affirming care. She told the committee that she was tired of lawmakers “attacking” her identity and she doesn’t like “spending my free time asking adults to make good choices”.
In her testimony, Kai Shappley told the committee: “Texas legislators have been attacking me since Pre-K. I am in fourth grade now.”
The girl also argued that God “made her” and “loves her” for who she is, and “God does not make mistakes”.
In a tweet on Tuesday (20 April), Kai’s mother, Kimberly Shappley, shared that she had forbidden her daughter from using any social media accounts because she had been receiving threats.
“The messages and comments directed at a 10 year old have been horrifying,” Kimberly Shappley wrote on her daughter’s Twitter. “Most recently, ‘dumb idiot get murdered you disgusting little brat’ on her YouTube channel.”
Kai’s mom here. She’s not allowed on any of her social media accounts for now. The messages and comments directed at a 10 year old have been horrifying. Most recently, “dumb idiot get murdered you disgusting little brat” on her YouTube channel. https://t.co/uHaWpSfsOW
— Kai Shappley HER/SHE ? (@KaiShappley) April 20, 2021
The horrific messages sent to a young trans girl came after another person who testified before the Texas legislature shared she had been getting death threats. Amber Briggle, who is the mom of a trans son, said she and her family had also received death threats because of her testimony.
She said in series of tweets on Tuesday (20 April) that she had filed a police report over “threatening voice messages listing all the ways I should kill myself”. Briggle said she was “mad” at the threats because, even though it was a “rando” who most likely called her, “state legislators were the ones who lit the match”.
“I’m mad because the people who were elected to keep us safe and protected here in Texas are the same people who are putting my family in danger,” she wrote.
I'm mad because the people who were elected to keep us safe and protected here in Texas are the same people who are putting my family in danger.
Some rando (not a politician – probably?) called me. But state legislators were the ones who lit the match.— Amber Briggle (she/her) (@mrsbriggle) April 20, 2021
She said the Texas legislature “launched the attack” and “their goons couldn’t wait to strike”. Briggle implored others in Texas to “remember their names the next time you vote and send them the f**k home”.
She also shared that “two reporters” had texted her to “apologise if their articles exposed me to danger”, but she said the issues needed to be talked about more.
“We actually need MORE amplification to #ProtectTransKids, not less. Keep shining a light on this,” Briggle wrote.
PS: I've already had 2 reporters text me to apologize if their articles exposed me to danger.
They did not. The Texas GOP and Heritage Foundation are 100% to blame.
We actually need MORE amplification to #ProtectTransKids, not less. Keep shining a light on this.— Amber Briggle (she/her) (@mrsbriggle) April 20, 2021
In her testimony, Briggle said she was “terrified” to speak before the same committee hearing as Kai Shappley because her son is trans, and she supports him. She told the committee she was “afraid that by speaking here today my words will be used against me”, and her “sweet son, whom I love more than life itself, will be taken away from me”.
Both Briggle and Shappley were speaking against Texas State Bill 1646, which is an anti-trans healthcare bill currently being debated in the state. The bill, which is supported by 13 Republican state senators, would consider a person guilty of child abuse if they ‘consent’ or ‘assist’ in providing a trans child with gender-affirming care.
