Fox News revisits James Talarico remarks on gender identity and child custody

Fox News Politics reported that James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, said in 2019 that parents who refuse to acknowledge their children’s gender identity may be causing harm and, in some cases, engaging in abusive behavior.

According to the outlet, Talarico made those remarks during a Texas legislative committee hearing on HB 1910. The bill sought to prevent courts in custody cases from treating a parent’s acknowledgment or refusal to acknowledge a child’s gender identity or expression as evidence of child abuse.

Fox News Politics said Talarico opposed the proposal because he argued that completely ruling out that possibility could be dangerous for vulnerable children. In that hearing, he said that unwillingness to acknowledge a child’s gender identity could be abusive and destructive.

The outlet also said that version of the bill died in committee, but a later and stronger version passed the Texas House in May 2025 and became law. Fox News Politics further reported that Talarico voted against that version as well, supported an amendment to sunset the law in 2030, and backed another amendment that, in the author’s description, clarified that rejecting a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation should be treated as abuse under Texas law.

Fox News Politics added that at least one Republican criticized Talarico’s position. Talarico’s campaign, meanwhile, told the outlet that he supports and respects parental decisions about their children. Spokesperson JT Ennis said Talarico believes parents should have the most important say in raising their children and pointed to a bill he sponsored to protect parental rights.

Sources

• Fox News Politics

About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.