Stine: ‘There is an obsession with transgender as a concept’ in wake of UW conflict

A transgender University of Washington (UW) student was recorded flipping over a display table for the organization Turning Point USA, calling them Nazis and asking for them to leave the campus, according to Daily Mail, which published the video.

Turning Point USA is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses — founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery.

Minors seeking gender-affirming treatment can shelter without parent’s knowledge if bill passes

“Do I think that Charlie Kirk is a fascist? No, he’s just a hardline conservative,” KIRO host Jack Stine said. “Do I think that the people at that particular table want to see the quote-unquote ‘genocide of trans kids?'” No, I don’t think so.”

The student in question claimed Turning Point USA supports the genocide of transgender kids in the recorded video.

“I think this is basically the end result of when you tell people that even the idea of conservatism is against your very existence, this is what you get, right?” Stine continued.

“You get somebody going up to a table of people who are minding their own business effectively saying, ‘get off my campus, you Nazi,’ and then flipping over their table.”

It’s unclear if the protester, who has not been identified, was reprimanded for her actions by the school.

Rachel Anderson, an organizer for UW’s Turning Point USA chapter, tweeted about the incident, stating, “we’re not going anywhere and will continue to have a presence on campus!”

“What happens with, in general, trans people is, because conservatives largely control the national discourse around trans individuals, they feel as if they don’t have a say in their own lives,” Stine said.

“Most of the trans people that I know want desperately for people to have a neutral opinion about their existence, not this obsession that we see from certain news outlets who talk about it every single day in the most negative way possible.”

Last week, the Washington state House of Representatives approved a bill protecting minors from being reported when seeking gender-affirming care and not wanting their parents to know about it.

According to ACLU, 452 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across 45 states, with 29 passing in 14 states — an argument used by supporters of the bill who want to counter legislation that could be potentially harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.

Doctors performing gender-affirming treatment, abortions on minors protected in WA

The intense focus state capitols are facing nationwide regarding legislation that affects the transgender population continues to puzzle Stine, as he calls it an “obsession.”

“There is an obsession that people have with transgender as a concept,” Stine said. “And it just permeates almost every aspect of conservative discourse to this point in time, where it’s almost like, can we just talk about taxes again, please?”

You can listen to the rest of Stine’s conversation with co-host Spike O’Neill below: