Believe it or not, both of these things can be true

Don’t buy into the “either/or” argument

On Monday night, the Lakota School District voted against a policy that would mandate schools allow, for example, boys who identify as girls to use girls restrooms, locker rooms and play on girls sports teams.These policies are sweeping the nation. President Obama issued an executive order (that was likely unconstitutional) to mandate this policy in every public school. Thankfully, this policy was repealed by the Trump administration.Make no mistake – these policies are bad for children and schools. They annihilate the privacy rights of children and, ultimately, they promote the lie that someone can change their gender.Scientifically, changing your gender is impossible. No surgery or hormone injection can change biological realities.Opposing policies like what Lakota considered this week is the right thing to do. However, how we oppose these laws matter. When I read the reports of the school board meeting, my heart was broken. Proponents of the policy told the story of one teenage boy who sincerely felt like he was a girl. So deep was his pain, that he committed suicide.When I’ve spoken with people who struggle with gender identity, I’ve walked away with one prevailing thought: they are experiencing a very deep, and very real pain. They genuinely do feel as if they are trapped in the wrong body.The liberal left would tell us the most loving thing is to encourage people with gender dysphoria to pursue a life identifying as the opposite sex.Yet the stats show this isn’t helpful. Like this study that showed people who go through “gender reassignment” surgery commit suicide at the same rate as those who do not.The bottom line is that two things can be true in this debate: it’s wrong to advance policies that mandate that biological men are allowed to use women’s restrooms. But we can also acknowledge, love, and come around men and women who are struggling with gender dysphoria.