No way this was gonna keep until Friday. Mitchell has known for awhile, hence my ‘sweating bullets’ reference on Friday.
Make no mistake, this is big. I see no way the Kop Kabal leadership can survive if Mitchell falls. And DeShanna Neal is a serious challenger. Here is how she first became an effective advocate:
DeShanna Neal felt ill that early May morning, but no matter. She needed to get to Dover to speak before the Senate’s Health, Children & Social Services Committee. So her husband, Chris, took off from his job as a deli manager at BJ’s to stay with their four children, who they homeschool: Trinity, 13; Lucien, 12; Hyperion, 6; and Thane, 2.DeShannakept a dentist’s appointment to have a temporary crown put in, downed some ginger ale to calm her upset stomach, then made the hour drive to the state capital.
On the Senate’s agenda that day: SB 65, a bill seeking to ban so-called “conversion therapy,” a variety of treatments practitioners say can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Several professional medical organizations—including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association—oppose the practice, saying it’s based on a false assumption:LGBTQindividuals have a mental abnormality. The only documented outcomes of conversion therapy, they say, have been guilt, anxiety and self-harm.
Trinity Neal, 13, is transgender. In the terminology preferred by theLGBTQcommunity, Trinity was classified as male at birth based on anatomy, but had the internal sense of being female. Her true self emerged a few years later, when the 3-year-old announced, “I am a girl.”
DeShanna Neal says they did what any parents would do, and they did it because they love their child. That’s the same message she took to Dover, urging parents to accept their children as they are instead of trying to change them.
“Unconditional love and support saved my child’s life,” Neal told the committee. “The day my daughter’s therapist asked us to choose between a happy little girl and a dead little boy, we knew what had to be done. We chose her. We chose love.”
Like Sarah McBride, Neal wants to be in position to be an advocate who has the electoral clout to accomplish even more:
https://www.facebook.com/DeshannaNealforDistrictThirteen.
Her campaign theme?: “I’m A mom. A friend. A fighter. And a proud Delawarean.”
This race immediately takes place alongside the Kerri Harris vs. Generic Chamber Guy and, of course, Marie Pinkney vs. Dave McBride as one of the most important match-ups in recent Delaware legislative history. We’ll obviously write a whole lot more on this race moving forward. However, you can make a difference right here, right now. Do it. Then come back here and brag about it.
Game’s on!