• by Danielle Oster , December 13, 2024

In the week since national LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PFLAG launched a campaign in partnership with Vet Voices Foundation focused on a Navy veteran father of a trans daughter, military families with trans children received some devastating news.

On Dec. 12, the House of Representatives passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that included an amendment banning coverage of gender-affirming care for trans children of military families.

"We have a solemn obligation to those who serve that the government will support their families and will ensure that all their children, including their transgender children, have the freedom to thrive. This provision in the NDAA is a slap in the face to their sacrifice," PFLAG National CEO Brian K. Bond told Marketing Daily.

In PFLAG’s 60-second video, ad, “Branden’s Daughter,” Branden opens with a stark reflection of his family’s reality. “‘I’d love to show you a picture of my family, but I can’t, because there are people who would target one of my children simply for being who she is,” he says. “I didn’t swear an oath to defend our country's freedom to have to fight for my child’s freedom to be who she is.’”

At the conclusion of the ad, he pleads “parent to parent” for viewers not to make life any “harder than it has to be” for his daughter and other trans youth.

The ad ran on targeted social media in Washington D.C., North Carolina and Texas -- locations chosen for their concentration of veterans, and, in the case of the two states in question, harsh state laws attacking the rights of trans people. Bond explained. PFLAG said it will evaluate its performance and decide whether to extend the length of the campaign.

“The point is to allow people to pause the noise and humanize the reality that these are decent, loving parents just trying to do the best possible for their kids,” Bond said. “Utilizing vet voices and dads will hopefully open the doors on the conversation.”

Branden told Marketing Daily that veterans who transitioned -- either while serving or after -- now are also questioning whether healthcare services will still be available to them under the new administration, fearful that attacks on veteran healthcare access will soon extend to them as well.

“From a personal perspective, it's sad that one of my children might be limited in what they can do in their life -- in any aspect,” he added, suggesting it could also open the door to further restrictions like banning transgender doctors from serving in the National Institute of Health.

“It’s certainly not how this nation was founded, not why I raised my hand to volunteer and serve,  and makes me think about my service and what it meant, and where we’re going as a country.”

The campaign follows a barrage of anti-trans spots during the presidential election, with over $200 million spent by Trump and allies on ads that  often ran during prominent sporting events.

“This has just been a continuing assault on kids and human beings for political gain,” Bond said, “This [issue] is not going to go away anytime soon. The more we can share our stories, highlight commonalities, the more we can highlight parents who are doing good things,” and “the more opportunity we have to change hearts and minds.”