Eric Childs and his trans son in a public service announcement by GRACE (Screen capture: GRACE/YouTube)
With the 2024 election fast approaching, the Gender Research Advocacy Council & Education (GRACE) released a public service announcement last week featuring a conservative U.S. Army veteran named Eric Childs who was raising a trans son before he died in an accident shortly after his Republican governor, Henry McMaster (R-S.C.), signed a series of anti-trans bills.
GRACE hopes Childs’s message will push back against the deluge of anti-trans attack ads run by conservative candidates including former President Donald Trump. Republicans have spent tens of millions in an effort to make trans rights a salient and divisive issue ahead of Election Day.
“To me, serving my country was defense of freedom, fighting for democracy, defending our country in its entirety after we’d been attacked,” Childs said in the PSPA. “Freedom means liberty. It means the ability to live your life as you see fit. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I wanted that for my children one day.”
In a press release, GRACE featured a quote from Jessicka Spearman Childs, Eric’s widow, and mother to their transgender son: “Eric believed in the importance of freedom for trans kids — the right to live authentically and without fear. He saw this not as a political issue, but as a human one, recognizing that every child deserves the chance to thrive and feel whole. His legacy isn’t just one of military service; it’s one of compassion, empathy, and fighting for the right of every individual to live as their true self.”
GRACE founder and President Alaina Kupec, a veteran and former U.S. Navy intelligence officer, told the Washington Blade, “We at GRACE have watched with horror the political attacks on transgender community. These false narratives have gone unchallenged and we took the initiative to set the record straight.”
She continued, “True conservative values mean the government should not be mandating care or imposing egregious policies designed to merely attack and bully a community. An overwhelming majority from both parties see these attacks as hollow and self serving. And after this election cycle when all is said and done, we will again remind all parties that attacks on the transgender and LGB community are losing them voter support.”
GRACE Executive Director Jennifer Williams, who serves as a councilwoman for Trenton, N.J., shared the following with the Blade, speaking as a private citizen:
“The enormous amounts of money spent on ads targeting .06% of the U.S. population who have never committed a Federal crime shows how desperate some politicians are to win at any costs.
“My personal belief is that these ads started at the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons to scare young men about transgender people, particularly women who are trans. These ads have heightened concerns about personal security and discrimination towards transgender Americans. There will be long-term effects from such egregious and excessive anti-LGBTQ advertising.
“After viewing and hearing these ads for several months, some people may become influenced by fear of what they don’t understand and act out upon their fears – or not respect our humanity. It is obvious that after this election is over, we must rebuild support for transgender Americans across the political and social spectrums in order to protect ourselves. Our very liberties and freedoms will depend on that.”
As explained in the press release, GRACE seeks to engage with “center and center-right audiences who are often not prioritized but whose support is needed to change the current national narrative.”
Data shows anti-trans advertising is likely to backfire politically
A survey published on Thursday by Data For Progress shows voters have been turned off by the anti-trans commercials, findings that are consistent with research by the organization over the past year, where voters consistently reported that their priorities are concentrated on issues like the economy rather than LGBTQ matters.
Data For Progress found that voters believe both parties should spend less time on transgender issues — though on transgender issues, they believe Democrats are more trustworthy and Republicans more extreme.
Further, the survey says voters believe trans people should be treated with respect and they disagree with the use of anti-trans messages in attack ads.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
