Last summer, my husband and I visited Fountain Hills from back east and instantly fell in love with the town and its beauty. After talking, we decided that this would be a wonderful community to raise our three children in and to move our businesses to.
We packed everything up, sold our properties and started our trek across the country.
Once we got here, we learned that behind that beauty was a darkness lurking in the shadows. Our oldest son is transgender. He was born female. At first, we thought he was just a tomboy and it was a phase. We met with several doctors and psychologists over several years. They explained that outside he was a girl, but inside he was a boy. After several consultations with his doctors, we made the decision that it was in his best interest to transition and started him on testosterone and other hormones.
Just like any parent, we wanted what was best for our child. This wasn’t any overnight choice or a “gee, I want to pretend to be a boy today” type moment. This literally saved our child’s life. He was happier than he ever had been. Most people can’t even tell these days.
Once we got to Fountain Hills, we learned of the hateful rhetoric of Councilmembers Allen Skillicorn, Hannah Toth and Rep. John Kavanagh towards my son and people like him. You would think they would be better informed. As parents we want what’s best for our children and we want them to be happy. After considering our options, we decided that Fountain Hills is not a welcoming place.
