(RightIsRight.co) – Stating she cannot “in good conscience” support her former party’s stance on transgender issues, Texas State Representative Shawn Thierry announced that she is leaving the Democrat Party and joining the GOP.
Thierry, a lifelong Democrat from Houston, made the switch after losing the Democrat primary runoff in May to LGBTQ+ activist Lauren Ashley Simmons.
“The Democratic Party has veered so far left, so deep into the progressive abyss, that it now champions policies I cannot, in good conscience, support—policies like promoting sex changes for vulnerable children and dismantling Title IX protections for women in sports,” Thierry said in a press release posted on X.
Before her defeat, Thierry had supported several GOP-backed bills opposed by the LGBTQ+ community—laws that banned gender transitions for minors and required transgender athletes to play on college sports teams that align with their biological sex.
Moreover, Thierry made headlines last year when she publicly opposed gender-transition surgeries and treatments for minors during an emotional speech on the Texas House floor.
She also supported a bill aimed at removing sexually explicit materials from school libraries, a measure critics feared would target LGBTQ+ books.
As a practicing Baptist with strong religious beliefs, Thierry felt she could not remain silent while Democrats opposed what she saw as common-sense policies.
“I have witnessed firsthand how the left stifles thoughtful debate, silences dissent, and demands blind allegiance to an ideology that is anti-family and anti-children,” she said.
Thierry added, “If you question or disagree, they will cancel you. This is why so many former Democrats plan to vote Republican in November.”
Similar to Thierry’s decision, Dallas mayor Eric Johnson also became a Republican last year after advocating for law enforcement and low property taxes, along with other longtime Texas Democrats.
In contrast, Texas Democrats criticized Thierry for betraying “the values and priorities of her constituents” in Houston. Still, Texas Republicans were quick to embrace her, including Governor Greg Abbott.
“Today, I am proud to welcome Representative Shawn Thierry to the Republican Party—the party of opportunity, individual liberty, and economic prosperity,” Abbott said. “Her decision to switch parties demonstrates that the radical leftist agenda of the Democrat Party does not align with a majority of Americans…”
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