While Bogard’s son is not currently undergoing any gender-affirming care, for the leader of St. “The Attorney General is taking names, and asking neighbors to report on neighbors,” Bogard tells me, referring to Bailey’s “transgender concern form,” which was taken down after it was spammed with fake entries, including copies of the “Bee Movie” script (I have to take a moment to appreciate that Jerry Seinfeld was drafted as an unwitting ally in this fight).

The order, which was supposed to go into effect this week, but has been blocked by a Missouri judge, would “make Missouri the first state in the country to restrict gender-transitioning care for all ages,” according to the New York Times. Imagine that: a Jewish parent, in the United States, in 2023, worried that his government will come and tear his family apart.Įarlier this month, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey announced a temporary order banning gender-affirming care for trans individuals. “It really kind of feels like the early days of COVID, where things that feel like overreactions today become tomorrow’s reality.” What’s our plan? How do we go and when do we go? What is the moment that we flee?” His voice is brimming with emotion. “We’re up at night talking about what do we do if DCFS knocks.

In exchange, he tells me what keeps him and his wife, a fellow rabbi, up at night: his state government coming to take his transgender child away. My toddler, I explained, is vehemently opposed to the idea of sleep, shrieking endlessly throughout all hours of the night.

Louis, Missouri last Saturday night, I apologized for sounding so tired. When I called Rabbi Daniel Bogard at his home in St.

Noam sienna a rainbow thread