Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said that he wants transgender children to live in fear of their own parents in response to a bishop asking Donald Trump to have mercy on LGBTQ+ people.Tuberville was responding to Right Rev. Marian Buddes plea earlier this week that Trump have empathy for LGBTQ+ people especially children and immigrants. Related Donald Trump may soon ban trans people in the military. Advocates say he wont get away with it. Trans rights advocates fought the ban in courts in Trumps first term. They say their case has only gotten stronger. You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now, she said at a prayer service on Tuesday. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Tuberville took issue with the Christian leaders support for all children.These trans children should live in fear of their parents, Tuberville wrote on X, andthe sick people that enable those guardians.Its child abuse. An absolute disgrace.Tubervilles comments are based on the anti-LGBTQ+ myth that no one is actually LGBTQ+, that everyone is straight and cisgender until LGBTQ+ adults turn them gay or trans. This notion is false; homosexuality and trans identity are both natural parts of human diversity. Moreover, there is no evidence that a person who is not LGBTQ+ can be turned LGBTQ+ by their parents.Instead, its a common experience for trans youth to hide their identities from authority figures, including their parents and teachers, because they know they are expected to be cisgender. Trans kids who do come out to their families often face rejection, punishment, abuse, conversion therapy, and homelessness instead of finding acceptance for who they are. Tubervilles suggestion that trans children should be scared of their parents when they already experience greater rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation is antithetical to Jesus directive to treat others as you would have them treat yourself. Trans youth already face bullying at a much higher rate than their cisgender peers, and they certainly dont need a US senator adding to that harassment, the Alabama Transgender Rights Action Coalition said in remarks to AL.com.We take the remark to be a denial of all trans folks lived experiences, especially within the context of expected executive actions Science and medicine affirm the existence of a whole spectrum of gender that includes cisgender and transgender people alike. The administrations stance on this benefits no one, and contradicts widely accepted medical best practice.Trump also reacted negatively to being told to have mercy on LGBTQ+ people and immigrants, calling Bishop Budde nasty and demanding she apologize. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.