DANIEL MCCARTHY: Keep Children Safe From Transgender Politics

Before Robin Westman murdered two children and wounded many more at Minneapolis’s Annunciation Catholic School, Robin was Robert, a troubled teenager whose mother worked for the parish.

Robert’s mother approved the name change, but after Robert became Robin in 2020, the teen’s psychological problems obviously didn’t go away — they led, five years later, to carnage.

A serious discussion of transgenderism, mental illness and violence is long overdue.

Earlier this year, the “Zizians,” a cult notable for the transgenderism of its leader and many members, made headlines for their alleged involvement in a series of homicides, including the January slaying of U.S. Border Patrol agent David Christopher Maland.

Violent symbolism has lately claimed a prominent place in transgender political discourse:

The June 19 issue of Oregon’s Eugene Weekly featured a trans cover star cradling an AR-15-style rifle, with blurbs proclaiming, “Some queer folks are armed and ready to bash back” and asking, “Are you triggered?”

In the state where Westman would later open fire on schoolchildren, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democrat, two years ago made a public appearance in a shirt emblazoned with a knife and the legend, “Protect trans children.”

No one can say Westman didn’t receive enough protection — the trans killer’s victims are another matter.

One thing even liberals who broadly support transgender protections should consider is that blatant warning signs might get downplayed or ignored in cases like Westman’s for fear that noticing them would be politically incorrect.

The liberal urge to defend anyone who claims to be transgender can turn into making excuses for disturbing behavior of all kinds that may or may not have anything to do with gender dysphoria.

All children are deserving of protection — which includes protecting them from adults who have a reckless drive to affirm any doubts a minor has about his or her identity.