Laurie Higgins, a writer for Breakthrough Ideas, has criticized Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy for attributing the suicides and suicide attempts of transgender youth to Republican rhetoric. Higgins said that Cassidy made these claims without providing evidence in a recent commentary.
"Illinois State Representative lesbian Kelly Cassidy once again demonstrates her ignorance, sanctimony, nastiness, and dishonesty," said Higgins. "Cassidy is practiced at art of deception—more specifically, demagoguery—a particular form of deception of which politicians are fond. A mentally unwell Cassidy, visibly trembling with unholy rage and glaring at her colleagues—colleagues whom she recently accused of being pedophiles—accused them of “demonizing trans people,” “targeting trans youth,” of having an “obsession with trans youth,” and having “blood on their hands. Citing no evidence, she blamed Republicans for “21 suicides and attempted suicides by trans youth."
According to Higgins, during a speech on the House floor, Cassidy accused her Republican colleagues of endangering transgender youth by citing suicide attempts and numbers without substantiating her theory. Cassidy claimed that Illinois Republicans were "demonizing" transgender individuals and targeting minors, suggesting their rhetoric was responsible for "21 suicides and attempted suicides" among transgender youth. She did not provide sources for this figure but accused lawmakers of playing a political "game" with children's lives, referencing controversy over a transgender athlete in Naperville.
Higgins argued that Cassidy's behavior exemplifies ideological theatrics intended to portray political opponents as morally culpable. She described Cassidy’s emotional appeal, particularly the phrase "blood on your hands," as "demagoguery" aimed at stifling debate rather than engaging substantively on policy issues. Higgins also noted that Cassidy had previously accused colleagues of being pedophiles and viewed this latest speech as another instance of distorting facts for dramatic effect.
In her speech on the House floor, Cassidy said: "Since January, the organization Trans Up Front that serves families of trans children reported has had reports of 21 suicides and attempted suicides by trans youth. This is the outcome of what you call a game. You can fish for Cassidy all day every day baby, but when you come for kids, you’re going to catch the car and get dragged. You have blood on your hands. The blood of these children is on your hands. You are driving children to suicide."
Higgins responded: "Republicans are not obsessed with 'trans' youth. Republicans are responding to the obsession Cassidy and her ideological ilk have with deracinating ontological and moral views on sexuality and 'gender' that they detest and reject. Republicans are responding to Cassidy and her collaborators’ obsessive efforts to remake cultural practices and policies to align with their distorted desires."
Laurie Higgins is known for her work with Breakthrough Ideas and formerly served as Cultural Affairs Writer for the Illinois Family Institute from 2008 through 2023.
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