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| Newly minted Republican Shawn Thierry (L) Anti-Trans politician Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) |
It's been an awful year for one former Democrat, State Rep. Shawn Thierry.
She lost her seat to party-backed Democrat Lauren Ashley Simmons in the May runoff, subsequently switched parties after apparently just reading the democrats party platform, and topped it off by announcing she was the US political policy director for the hate group Genspect whose mission is to seduce left center politicians into a life of anti-trans extremism.
Thierry reposted on X as Anti-Trans activist Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Libs of Tic Toc, and Anti-goverment extremists Moms of Liberty welcomed her departure from sanity.
SPLC has officially added an extremist file for anti-LGBTQ+ bigot Chaya Raichik
— Jeff Tischauser (@jeff_tischauser) March 29, 2024
Her disinfo campaigns are associated w/ real world violence and bomb threats. Her false claims help to mobilize white supremacists.
Read: https://t.co/CevjlwSblA
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said Thierry had “chosen to continue to betray the values and priorities of her constituents” and “once again put money and title above principle."
“If Thierry looks at a party taking away the freedom for women to control their bodies, cutting healthcare for millions, and led by a racist, petty convict and says I want in on that mess, I think that says more about Shawn Thierry than about the Democratic Party,” Martinez Fischer said in a statement. "Adios."
SEGM and Genspect labeled anti-#lgbtq hate group by SPLC https://t.co/uYowxTnC6N via @YouTube
— FUMusk (@kellibusey) August 31, 2024
Ealier this month Thierry announced that she joined the SPLC designated Hate Group, Genspect, which promotes anti-transgender healthcare legislation and junk science.
The Texas Tribune reports that Thierry, who served four terms before losing her primary this year, was announced earlier this week as the director of political strategy for the U.S. wing of Genspect. Founded in 2021 by Irish psychotherapist Stella O’Malley, Genspect is part of a broader network of organizations that oppose gender-transitioning care for minors, and its members have testified in favor of bills across the world that would ban or limit the practice.
Genspect has also been accused by medical experts and organizations of relying on junk science to support their stance. O’Malley, for instance, has falsely claimed that there are links between peer pressure, pornography and gender dysphoria. Genspect has also partnered with groups such as the right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom, and argues that no one under the age of 25 should be allowed to transition because their brains “haven’t yet fully matured.”
At least one Genspect official has also privately said that they oppose gender transition for people of all ages, but focus on children as part of a broader strategy to court lawmakers.
“None of us would ever recommend transition for anyone,” Genspect’s vice director, Alasdair Gunn, reportedly wrote on a private server that was leaked to the Daily Dot in 2023. “On those over 25 we say little, because it’s not in YOUR interests to mention this. We have to break through to the policymakers who are left of center, and the way to do that is to focus relentlessly on the problem of transition for under 25s.”
Thierry and Genspect did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. The company also recently hired Dr. Eithan Haim, a Dallas-area doctor who is currently charged with illegally obtaining information about transgender patients at Texas Children's Hospital who were not in his care. Haim then allegedly leaked the information, and has framed himself as a "whistleblower."
