16-Year Old Says ‘The Fact That I’m Thrown Out Based on My Identity Is Ridiculous’
James Van Kuilenburg and his mother on Thursday went to a Ted Cruz rally in Maryland. The 16-year old boy is transgender, and says he wanted to go to hear what Cruz had to say, but also, as The Fredrick News-Post reported, “to show Cruz supporters that rhetoric about gay and transgender rights hurts real people, like him.”
James says he and his mother had tickets to the event. He had the transgender flag draped around his shoulders, but was not disruptive or disrespectful. Despite that, Cruz staffers asked them to leave, and did so physically, he says.
James on his Facebook page said that staff members repeatedly “grabbed” him and ultimately “pushed” him “out of the venue.” He says they called him “ma’am,” and told him he was “trespassing.”
“When trying to explain what had happened to the Cruz volunteers outside, they laughed at us,” James says. “The level of disrespect and aggression there was outstanding.”
The New Civil Rights Movement reported on James’ story a few hours after the rally, and James spoke with The Fredrick News-Post on the video below, to explain what happened.
Watch:
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Image: Screenshot via FrederickNewsPost/YouTube