Parents of transgender children want Trump's judicial nominee to apologize for 'Satan' comment

Jeff Mateer has 278 parents angry at him.

Jeff Mateer, one of Trump's nominees for the federal bench, is going to have a particularly rough hearing because of his extreme anti-LGBTQ comments. One of those comments continue to haunt him,

From Think Progress:

Many of President Trump’s judicial nominees have taken controversial positions in the past, but Jeff Mateer has expressed particularly toxic views on LGBTQ equality. In a 2015 speech — video of which has recently been deleted — he said that transgender children are evidence that “Satan’s plan is working and the destruction that’s going on.” The parents of those transgender children are responding. 

In a joint letter organized by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), 278 parents of transgender children from 36 states are asking Mateer to apologize or withdraw his nomination to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas: 

As parents, we are deeply disturbed by your remarks stating that children like ours are evidence of “how Satan’s plan is working.” It is hard to imagine a crueler thing to say about a child. It is obvious from your remarks in 2015 that you did not know the child whose very existence you mocked. Have you ever met a transgender child like ours? If you met our families, you would know that while children like ours can face a lot of misunderstanding, there is nothing wrong with who they are. 

We believe our children are miracles, like every child — not a part of “Satan’s plan.” As every reputable medical and pediatric association agrees, there is nothing wrong with being transgender, and children like ours can grow and thrive if they are loved and supported, just like their peers. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “transgender children fare much better when they feel supported by their family, school and larger community. Shaming children based on their gender identity or expression is harmful to their social-emotional health and may have lifelong consequences.”

For the rest of the article, go to Think Progress. I sincerely hope that Mateer apologizes for such a cruel and thoughtless comment. Either way, I think it's a good thing to keep him in the hot seat. He really had no business being nominated in the first place.

Presently, neither the Trump Administration nor members of the religious right have commented about Mateer.