Nick Wilson.Photo: Robert Voets/CBS via Getty
On the evening of March 16, both chambers of Kentucky’s Republican-majority legislature passed SB 150 — a bill that begins with the words “an act relating to children.”
Initially, the bill allowed teachers to use pronouns aligned with their students' biological sex, even if the student didn’t identify with them. But as the debate went on, the bill was expanded to include additional provisions.
Among other things, the bill includes a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. Doctors would be required to set a timeline to detransition children already taking puberty blockers or undergoing hormone therapy.
The bill also prohibits schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age, and prohibits discussing human sexuality or sexually transmitted diseases before the sixth grade.While critics say that the provisions are dangerous to the LGBTQ+ community, proponents say that the bill gives parents the right to make decisions for their children, and lets parents choose what — and when — to teach their children about sexual orientation and gender identity.
After the bill passed, Wilson’s name began trending nationwide on Twitter, with reality contestants and fans directing frustration at Wilson — despite the fact that he was not a sponsor of the bill.
Scott Wintrow/Getty, Robert Voets/CBS via Getty
Backlash in theSurvivorCommunity
“I am heartbroken and ANGRY at the way trans people and especially trans children are being discriminated against all over this country,” tweetedAdam Klein, who competed against Wilson inWinners at War.“We are going so, so backwards. If you take away gender-affirming care from a kid who needs it, you are on the so, so, so wrong side of history.”
Ricard Foyé, who competed onSurvivor41and is part of a long-term queer couple tells PEOPLE that he first met Wilson at a charity event, and they immediately hit it off. “I valued what I thought was an authentic relationship that we had built despite our differences,” he says.
But Foyé now sees the friendship differently.
“Targeting trans youth is the most dangerous and cowardly way to score political points, but I don’t believe that’s what Nick Wilson was trying to do,” he says. “I believe he wants trans youth to suffer and trans people to cease to exist. He is a bad person. Kentucky youth, and all trans youth, deserve so much better.”
Two-timeSurvivorcontestantEliza Orlins, who ran for district attorney in Manhattan in 2020, also expressed her outrage at the bill — and at Wilson.
“Nick Wilson is a bigoted, cruel person who is using hisSurvivorplatform to harm kids and families in Kentucky,” she tells PEOPLE. “It’s disgusting to see him not just vote for, but in fact sponsor horrific transphobic legislation. It’s hateful and discriminatory. As someone who ran for office myself, to watch Nick use his voice and his political position to actively hurt people is awful to witness.”
OtherSurvivoralums provided helpful resources. “Gender-affirming care is a lifesaver for transgender youth,” tweetedChristian Hubicki, a professor who competed against Wilson onDavid vs. Goliath. “So says the scientific evidence, as major medical associations have recommended access to comprehensive gender-affirming care for its use.” The Twitter thread then lists resources for more information.
‘I Cast My Vote Out of Compassion’
For Wilson’s part, he insists to PEOPLE that he was trying to protect children, not discriminate against anyone — and that his vote was intended to block unnecessary surgeries on minors. He says he finds similarities to the OxyContin epidemic that hit Appalachia, causing thousands of deaths before doctors had all the facts.
“I have compassion for these families and children, but we need to be cautious about what decisions we allow our children to make at a young age,” he says. “There are many things that we do not allow a child to do, even with a parent’s permission or consent — tobacco, alcohol, drugs, tattoos. Where should a surgical sex change rank among those?”
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
Wilson tells PEOPLE that he voted to represent his small district, which he says is often underappreciated and overlooked. “I don’t care if I’m liked if it means I am not allowed to stand up for our children,” he says.
source: people.com
