A Democratic state deputy in South Carolina ended up getting the ire of his own party after he joined 23 Republicans in support of a measure aimed at blocking hormonal treatments for young transgender people.
Last week, lawmakers introduced the South Carolina Vulnerable Child Protection and Compassion Act, which aims to prevent minors from being subjected to sex reassignment procedures. The move would restrict doctors from prescribing drugs or performing sex-altering procedures or delaying puberty for anyone under the age of 18, with the possibility of criminal charges for doctors who break the law, the Associated Press reported.
The project’s main sponsor is state deputy Cezar McKnight, who represents South Carolina’s 101st District Council, a largely democratic area where two-thirds of residents are black, according to the AP.
McKnight addressed his critics in an interview with “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Tuesday, telling presenter Tucker Carlson that such procedures should be performed only on adults.
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“I am not anti-transgender. I am not anti-gay. I am not homophobic and I resent people suggesting this,” said McKnight. “It was only last week that I struggled to put protections in our new hate crime bill that would protect gays, transgenders, lesbians. I struggled to put it there … I don’t hate anyone.”
However, McKnight continued, “My goal is to protect children, and I think in South Carolina, you have to be 18 to get a tattoo. So how can you do an irrevocable procedure performed on you at any age? during your teenage years? It’s ridiculous. “
McKnight added that he was surprised by the support he received from “gay people [and] transgender people who support this bill and came to me.
“At first, I was very scared because I thought ‘OK, they are going to primary [me]’and what you have. But I have people from my community, very conservative people. who said to me, ‘I never voted for you before, but I’m going to vote for you now, “he said.
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“I like to say that I caused good problems because all the opposition did was to help me conquer the republican parts of my district,” he told Carlson.
The lawmaker, who serves as a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, said his party has yet to wake up to the reality that “African-American Democrats are much more conservative than their white white counterparts.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.