The family, native Texans, say they are moving because they fear for the safety of their 10-year-old transgender daughter in the wake of Gov. Greg Abbott's decision in February to direct the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate reports of gender-affirming care as child abuse.
"With the situation as it is, I'm not fighting effectively," said Marin."You can't fight when you're down on the ground, just trying to fend people off of your children." Gender affirmation can also come in the form of hormone therapy or surgeries to alter one's physical characteristics. "Unfortunately, he was exposed to a lot of hate in listening to the testimony of people who were for the bills and also just hearing us talk at the dinner table like, 'what are we going to do?'" said Rey."The teachers from his school called me and were worried about him because they said he used to be the one who made everyone else laugh and now he doesn't really talk.
"Movement away from states with discriminatory laws and policies might lead to improved mental health over the long-term, but in the short term, moving can be highly stressful because of the disruptions and uncertainties associated with moving," Pachankis told ABC News by email.
Anne shares custody of her older daughter with her ex-husband and said that by moving for her one daughter, she would have to forgo seeing her other daughter for much of the year. A move would also be a daunting financial burden for the family, likely costing them tens of thousands of dollars in addition to she and her husband having to find new jobs and the family having to find a new, supportive community and new medical care, according to Anne.
Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, an advocacy organization focused on LGBTQ rights, told ABC News there are additional challenges that families of transgender children who remain in Texas could face. In Houston, Lisa Stanton, a mom of 11-year-old twins, one of whom is transgender, said she and her husband have decided to stay put for now, but at the same time they are planning an"emergency escape plan" and putting out feelers for job opportunities in states with more protections for transgender children.