Republicans seem so obsessed with transgender children there is no issue they will not use as a platform from which to launch an attack on them.
Former Hercules: The Legendary Journeys actor turned conspiracy theorist Kevin Sorbo is here to prove it.
In a tweet, Sorbo used the debate over children being slaughtered at school by assault weapons as a launching pad to mock and spread disinformation about transgender children.
See his tweet below.
\u201cIf an 18-year-old isn\u2019t \u201cmature enough\u201d to own a firearm, then maybe 5-year-olds aren\u2019t mature enough to change their gender.\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
Sorbo tweeted:
"If an 18-year-old isn’t 'mature enough' to own a firearm, then maybe 5-year-olds aren’t mature enough to change their gender."
The tweet is both nonsensical and counterfactual.
Sorbo is attempting to equate gun violence with medical care—an apples-to-bicycles comparison.
Five-year-olds can't simply waltz into a doctor's office and demand gender reassignment surgery or puberty-blocking medications. They need to be accompanied by their parents and evaluated by mental health professionals first.
Then gender-confirming medical interventions, whether surgical or pharmaceutical, are not permitted prescribed for five-year-olds. It's not a thing, despite what right-wing ideologues and zealots like to claim every time they opine on the topic.
Puberty blockers are only effective at puberty. Surgical procedures are recommended after the patient's growth cycle has ended—age 18 or later.
But buying an assault rifle that can kill dozens of people in seconds?
An 18-year-old can go into a gun shop and buy one with minimal questions asked in many states, no requirements for parental consent and no physical or mental evaluations by authorities of any kind.
In some states it is legal for minors to be given assault weapons by adults. Laws like this in the state of Wisconsin were a central part of Kyle Rittenhouse being acquitted of some of the criminal charges against him and others.
Lax gun laws have been statistically proven to get people killed. The same cannot be said of gender-confirming medical treatments administered after extensive oversight by parents and qualified doctors.
Sorbo's tweet left many on Twitter outraged.
\u201c@ksorbs Show us a state that allows 5 year olds to change their gender.\n\nYou can\u2019t because it doesn\u2019t happen.\n\nStop putting out nonsense because it fits your agenda and because you don\u2019t think people will question it. \n\nThose who don\u2019t think, don\u2019t question.\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs Hmm, this question was already asked and answered. https://t.co/rbXmQMOhHv\n\nhttps://t.co/hExUJdlKa4\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@TimRunsHisMouth Again, I can accept ppl being " conservatives", but that doesn't give you license to spew lies and misinformation to try to prove your point and to "own" the libs. https://t.co/obQ26MDPs3\u201d— Tim Young (@Tim Young) 1653617226
\u201c@ksorbs Can you provide the number of children dead from gender changes? I know the number killed by guns since 2016: 43,000\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@OGMoneyBadger @ksorbs\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs Name one 5 year old who changed their gender?\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs Sorry, but the mature parents of the 5 year old make that decision. No one at any age needs a military weapon. And it seems no one on the pro side of this explains why people should own one ?\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs @AWeiseyyy How interesting that you think 5-year-olds are doing that...\n\n(they aren't)\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs Or decide on a religion.\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs well, one affects absolutely no body and the other, affects, well, I don't know, ask the parents of Robb Elementary who was affected\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs Changing gender does not result in the death of 19 children at an elementary school, so maybe we fix civilian access to military-grade weapons first. I think that's the right priority \ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude44\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
\u201c@ksorbs Remember that one time 19 children died when a five-year old affirmed his/her/their gender?\u201d— Kevin Sorbo (@Kevin Sorbo) 1654194222
His acting career largely stagnated, Sorbo mostly makes headlines now by posting tweets about everything from Mount Rushmore to grammar and every Republican's favorite pandemic topic, face masks.
Quite the legacy.