MSNBC’s Chris Hayes ranted and raved on Thursday about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to ban sex reassignment “care” and surgery for children, prompting conservatives to accuse the left-wing host of defending “genital mutilation.”
The rant came a day after the governor “signed into law a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youth,” as reported by Reuters.
Hayes began the rant by calling the move “dystopian” and “authoritarian.”
“Telling parents how they can or cannot raise their own children is among the most authoritarian things that government can do. And now that is exactly what Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party in Florida and generally the conservative movement that endorses this are doing purely for ideological and punitive purposes,” he said.
He then accused Republicans of hypocrisy given their push for parental rights — a push that has been challenged at every step by liberal Democrats like Hayes.
“Now, the sick irony here, the one that I just can’t get over and really kind of sticks with me, is that the right-wing movement that gave us this new law signed yesterday is the very same group of people that screamed about parental rights for years amidst the pandemic,” the MSNBC host said.
“I get to say whether my kid wears a mask, I get to say whether my kid gets vaccinated. I get to say whether my kid goes to school. And Ron DeSantis was the public face of that movement,” he continued.
Hayes then played an old clip of DeSantis defending parental rights during the height of the COVID pandemic.
“If you’re coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I’m standing in your way. I’m not going to let you get away with it,” the governor said in the clip.
The law DeSantis signed in Florida banning care for trans kids is despicable and a frontal assault on the vaunted “parental rights” he and his ideological cohort have been screaming about for years.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 19, 2023
This was too much for the MSNBC host.
“What a tough guy! You see all that swagger? He’s going to stand in your way if you’re coming after parental rights, if you try to tell a parent what they can do with their kids!” he hollered in anger.
“That very same wing of the Republican Party embodied by Ron DeSantis and the government of the state of Florida has now demanded and produced a situation in which the government that you saw there with the tough guy swagger about freedom is going to decide if your child — who lives in your home that you gave birth to or raised, that you love — what kind of care they can get! He decides. Care that, to be clear, the American Academy of Pediatrics supports and recommends,” he added.
Hayes concluded the rant with a little bit of profanity.
“Think about what this means right now as I’m speaking to parents and families in Florida who have decided as a family, as parents, along with their doctors, that this health care, gender-affirming care, is the best care for their kids. You may not like it, but you know what? It’s none of your, excuse me, goddamn business!” he shrieked.
“To me, that is what the courage to be free means. Freedom means that in my household, our family decides what kind of health care our child does or does not get! Not Ron DeSantis! Not the Republican Party. But that is no longer the case in Florida,” he added.
The pushback was fierce and immediate:
Genital mutilation on a minor child is not “care”
— Abri (@mm77atl) May 19, 2023
Parents don’t have the right to sterilize or mutilate their kids.
— AConcernedParent (@AConcernedPare2) May 19, 2023
What’s despicable is calling the mutilation and sterilization of kids and adults “care”.
— I Man Expert Man (@IManExpertMan) May 19, 2023
You’re despicable Chris. Kids are unable to understand or consent to such life-altering surgeries.
— Crispus Attucks, Esq (@cattucks1775) May 19, 2023
@chrislhayes, every State prohibits tattoos for minors w/o parental consent. I don’t hear u cursing at ur viewers about that & demanding kids be able to get them done on the sly. @comcast, THIS is what u offer up as ‘reliable’ news coverage?
— DFC (@twifan_nana) May 19, 2023
So collectively we all understand that breast implants on 13yo girls is wrong, or a 15yo boy taking steroids to bulk up in the gym is dangerous and wrong. Why is that different? It’s affirming their self image. Yet somehow it’s completely ok as long as gender change is involved?
— Derek Trulious (@DerekTru) May 19, 2023
I run a “Breast Cancer” Support group. Explain to me if a person does not have a disease, disorder or the BRCA gene, why surgically removing healthy, non-diseased body parts from children is considered “care.”
I can wait for your response.
— Tired of being politically correct (@USBornNRaised) May 19, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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