Before his death, this conservative combat veteran filmed a PSA advocating for his transgender son

While Republicans continue to approach the closing days of the 2024 election cycle by doubling down on grievance and hatred with transphobic messaging, GRACE, a transgender advocacy group, is offering a compassionate counterpoint with a new public service announcement featuring Eric Childs, a conservative South Carolina U.S. Army combat veteran and father of a transgender child. In the ad, Childs shares an earnest message about the importance of love, freedom, and standing by his child.

Childs reflects on his military service in the PSA, emphasizing the principles he fought to protect. “Freedom means liberty. It means the ability to live your life as you see fit,” he says. “Legislators shouldn’t be anywhere near my child’s doctor’s office. My child has parents that get to decide his health care. The legislators that want to dictate these bills don’t have the education nor the credentials to make these kinds of decisions. That’s not OK. That’s not freedom; that’s regulation.”

Ahead of the election, the American Civil Liberties Union has been tracking 530 bills nationwide targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

A 2023 survey by The 19th revealed that most Americans are skeptical of lawmakers’ understanding of transgender issues. The survey found that 72 percent of respondents doubted whether politicians had the necessary knowledge to craft fair policies around gender-affirming care for minors. Despite the increasing political focus on restricting access to such care, most Americans believe health care decisions should remain with families and medical experts.

The video comes at a time when Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, have focused on transgender issues in their ads, targeting gender-affirming care and transgender athletes. The ads have flooded battleground states, attempting to paint transgender rights as a threat to Americans’ way of life. The ads are not without consequence. On Monday, Fox News aired a segment in which Trump called transgender kids a “threat to democracy.”

As anti-trans laws continue to pass across the country, studies have shown a link between such legislation and increased suicide attempts among transgender youth. A recent Trevor Project study found that in states with anti-trans laws, the suicide attempt rate for transgender and nonbinary teens rose significantly.

GRACE founder and president Alaina Kupec, a veteran and former U.S. Naval Intelligence officer, stressed the importance of the PSA in addressing the current political climate. “The politicization of the transgender community has always been one of distraction from more relevant issues,” Kupec said in a statement. “We have politicians who talk about freedom and liberty for everyone while doing all they can to marginalize and erase transgender citizens. The deliberate untruths they put forth are in direct contrast to our founding fathers’ vision and American values these politicians say they stand for.”

Childs died of injuries he sustained in a car accident in May, shortly after filming the PSA. However, his widow, Jessicka Spearman Childs, discussed his unwavering dedication to their transgender child in a press release. “Eric believed in the importance of freedom for trans kids — the right to live authentically and without fear,” she said. “He saw this not as a political issue but as a human one, recognizing that every child deserves the chance to thrive and feel whole. His legacy isn’t just one of military service; it’s one of compassion, empathy, and fighting for the right of every individual to live as their true self.”

Watch the powerful PSA below.

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