Well…it’s been a year since I’ve been here. That’s crazy to me because it doesn’t feel that long. In fact, I’ve been meaning to revisit the last post that I did because I really wasn’t happy with it. Apparently, I’ve been contemplating that for a year! I never did get around to it. One reason I’ve been absent is because things are so ugly right now. And really what else is there to say? I’ve been told recently that I only pretend to be about peace and love. Sigh.

About 3 years ago, I made a post about our new puppy Pepper (There’s Something About Pepper ). Well, what an adventure it has been. When she hit the 8-month-old mark, she turned into a completely different dog. And not in a good way. She became very reactive to just about everything…including Mike. She started guarding really weird stuff as well. After working with 3 different trainers and our vet, we are pretty sure she didn’t have a very good start to life. She is riddled with anxiety and is wary of everything. It got to the point where the trainers and vet were saying we may have to put her down. After losing Lucy, this was devastating. It took a TON of work, but I was determined to do whatever I could to keep that from happening. She has made great progress, but she will never be a “normal” dog. At least our home life with her is much better. There is still work to be done, but we have more happy times with her than the difficult ones.

One of the things we needed to learn was to pay attention to the cues that Pepper was giving us. Things that may seem unimportant actually can give you good information. Things like a dry shake, a yawn, a raised paw, the flick of their tongue on their mouth, etc. All of these things can be signs of anxiety, fear, or discomfort. We had to become body language experts. I think that is one of the things that make online conversations so difficult. Perhaps if we could see and hear each other, we would be able to determine intentions more easily. And I’m pretty sure some would have a harder time being disrespectful to the person’s face rather than being behind a keyboard. Maybe.

Earlier this month, the 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy was released. I started to see some chatter about it online because something very peculiar (at least to me) was in there. The paragraph below is on Page 7:

In addition to cartels and Islamist terror groups, our national CT activities will also prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist. We will use all the tools constitutionally available to us to map them at home, identify their membership, map their ties to international organizations like Antifa, and use law enforcement tools to cripple them operationally before they can maim or kill the innocent. We will do the same with the state sponsors of such groups and those governments undertaking lethal plots on U.S. soil or against Americans anywhere.

I posted on Facebook asking what in the world they meant by being radically pro-transgender. In reading the document, it seems that you could be considered a domestic terrorist. Yikes! I have transgender friends and I know families with transgender children that I love dearly. I would say that I am radically pro-transgender because of that love and because they are under attack by this administration. As an ally, I stand with them and for them. Even if I didn’t know any transgender people personally, I would still choose to love them because that’s what I’m called to do as a Jesus follower. You know…He was kind of radical like that.

Some people commented saying that there was no need to worry because it only applies to people who are antagonists and in terrorist types of groups. But my question was why in the world was being “radically pro-transgender” listed in there? And what in the world does that mean? I feel like that is really open to interpretation and is dangerous for the trans community.

In 2022, Mississippi Republican governor candidate Robert Foster called for the execution of people who support trans rights, specifically targeting those who support gender-affirming care for minors. In 2026, Monty Fitts, the GOP candidate for governor of Tennessee, openly called for the state to enact capital punishment for the parents and guardians of trans youth. I can hear you saying, “Lesa these are extreme cases.” I hope so! Regardless, these two men felt comfortable making these statements publicly. So, to me it’s not a far stretch for the term “radically pro-transgender” to go down a rabbit hole that could be quite dangerous. Those of us that aren’t transgender or don’t have transgender children have the luxury to brush it off as extremism and something that can’t possibly happen. Transgender people and their parents don’t have that luxury. Just look at how far the anti-abortion laws have gone. Who would have thought that doctors would have to consult lawyers before treating a woman near death due to a difficult pregnancy?

Some people pointed out that the reason that term is in the document is due to people like the person who assassinated Charlie Kirk. The shooter had a transgender roommate, and it was rumored that they may have been in a romantic relationship. Authorities investigated whether the suspect may have been angry about Charlie’s views about transgender issues. They said it was a possible motive, but not a proven conclusion. There was a large amount of misinformation about the shooter. One claim that was disputed and corrected by authorities was that the shooter left explicit “pro-trans” messages. There were also claims that Charlie was shot while talking about transgender people, when he was actually answering a question about mass shootings when he was shot.

Someone else brought up The Covenant school shooting in Nashville that was done by a transgender person as a reason why that phrase was in the document. Authorities said that the event was motivated by a desire for notoriety and an obsession with previous mass shootings. They did not find evidence that the attack was primarily motivated by trans politics or by an organized ideological movement.

Why does all of this matter? It puts a bigger target on the transgender community. They already have one to begin with and this just adds fuel to the fire. I have friends that have trans kids that get death threats daily. Blaming the above events on an entire community is calculated. It seems our politicians need someone or a group to hate for votes and the trans community is in their crosshairs. Based on global tracking, a transgender person is murdered at least every 3 days. Transgender people are far more often victims of violence than perpetrators.

During online and private conversations, I mentioned that this administration is harming the trans community. Here are some ways that is happening:

In 2026, Kansas enacted a law that invalidated previously changed gender markers on IDs and birth certificates and required records to reflect sex assigned at birth. Reports said the state already had internal records of people who had changed those markers. This literally happened overnight. They were not given any time to get an updated driver’s license which meant their current license was invalid.

The State Department has refused to renew or issue new passports in trans people’s current gender marker, reverting them to their sex assigned at birth. This effectively outs any traveler whose gender presentation does not match their passport.

Trans members of the military were forced out, often forfeiting the military retirements they earned, or were on track to earn.

States including Kansa, Texas, Indiana, and Tennessee are looking to collect information about people who sought gender affirming care or changed gender markers on documents.

As of 2026, twenty-six states have laws that ban or heavily restrict some forms of gender-affirming medical care for minors. These laws usually prohibit treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries for transgender minors. Some of these states allow limited exceptions, while others broadly prohibit medical transition care for minors. The laws vary a lot by state. A few states also impose criminal penalties on healthcare providers who provide certain types of gender-affirming care to minors.

As of May 2026, twenty-one states have enacted laws or policies restricting transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity in certain spaces, such as schools, government buildings, or public spaces. These bans commonly mandate that individuals use bathrooms corresponding to their sex assigned at birth.

Why it matters…

Unless you’ve been part of the joy and excitement of someone receiving their driver’s license and/or passport with their gender marker changed, I’m not sure you can understand the devastation of it being taken away. But more importantly there is the danger that it poses for that person. This outs them and as I mentioned above, they are much more likely to be victims of violence.

I have a friend that works with military personnel, and it has been sickening to see how the transgender service members have been treated after many years of faithful service. How can you serve for 20+ years and then be dismissed because somehow suddenly you can’t do your job?

Transgender people being on any type of list due to gender marker changes or gender-affirming care is just plain scary. I don’t know anyone that would be ok with their private information being collected like that. I mean…men…I think Viagra should be considered gender-affirming care. Would you be ok with the government knowing that you take it, how often you take it, how much you take, etc? I’m thinking not.

The fact that the government can tell someone what they can do with their body is bonkers to me yet gender-affirming care is being determined by the government in some states. It has been so bad that I have friends that have moved out of the country so that they can get care for their children. How sad is that? Maybe you are thinking why leave the country…just move to another state. All it takes is a shift in leadership and then they would be in the same boat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the money to move from state to state over and over again. And lest you think that these families are over-reacting, the Hawaii state legislature just passed HB 1875, a sweeping new shield law that explicitly protects gender-affirming health care from out-of-state attacks. By expanding their 2023 abortion shield, lawmakers have officially turned the islands into a sanctuary for trans healthcare. This means if you travel to Hawaii for legal gender-affirming care, the state’s courts, police, and medical boards are legally barred from helping hostile red states punish you or your doctor. You see, states are trying to make it illegal to go to another state for care just like they are doing for abortions.

The bathroom bans are also a danger to trans individuals. I follow someone on Instagram that explained how he was assaulted coming out of the restroom. He is a trans man with a full beard and his state requires him to use the ladies’ room. Someone’s husband did not appreciate him being in there with his wife.

I could go on, but I will stop there. It’s a lot! I’m happy to say the recent exchanges that I had were positive. I wish I could say that for every interaction. It is so important how we have conversations online. You don’t know what the person has experienced when you make a comment (and you can’t see their body language). We have to remember that while we may be commenting on a friend’s post that we know in person, there is a whole community of people who can see that comment as well.

I know there are some that will read this and think these things are minor or no big deal. The fact of the matter is that someone changing their gender marker or having gender-affirming care has absolutely no impact on my life or yours. But I can tell you, for them it is very important and in some cases a matter of life or death. We have lost so many kids because of these things to suicide. So regardless of what the government means by the statement in the document, I will continue to be “radically pro-transgender” because it matters. And I will continue to show the community that they are loved…

Because love matters…