The nationwide fingerprint of transgenders got an enormous boost last week with the declaration by U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen that her son, Rodrigo, was actually born as her daughter Amanda. And Amanda he remained until 2007 when he began his transition process.

Much was made of the announcement, including an exclusive interview on the local CBS affiliate in Miami, which broke the story. It was full of compassion and education, with Ileana and her husband Dexter Lehtinen (who were married in 1984) openly supporting their son.

“As parents we wanted to make sure Rigo understood we were totally fine with it. We wanted to make sure he was safe. Our society is sometimes not inviting and not caring enough and there is no mystery that LGBT kids when they are younger are bullied,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

“Totally fine,” perhaps. But not always. Back in 1996, Ros-Lehtinen voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). She was hardly alone. DOMA passed both houses of Congress by large, veto-proof majorities and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in September 1996.

Eventually, however, Ros-Lehtinen became the only Republican to vote for its repeal. That was in 2009, two years after her son’s effort to transition. As with many Republicans, it takes a personal experience, often with family members, to reverse feelings about transgenders in particular and the LGBT community in general.

Rodrigo said of his mother: “I think she’s genuinely a good person, she may be Republican and I may not be, but she cares about people enough and the tide of history is going so much in that direction.”

Ros-Lehtinen seconded that opinion by giving advice to other parents that face the situation where a son or daughter comes out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

“Don’t freak out, stay calm and don’t be afraid. Love your child because that person is your child whether it’s the person you wanted him or her to be or not. That’s my advice to parents, never, never reject your child. That’s unconditional love no matter what.”

What remains obvious is that while Ros-Lehtinen is now sincere in her beliefs in favor of gay and transgender rights, she was equally sincere in her opposition to them earlier. That she is the only Republican in Congress to vote for repeal of DOMA remains a pathetic reminder of just how out-of-step with history the majority of her fellow party members are.

It seems that since the Supreme Court voted to declare DOMA unconstitutional in June 2013, Republicans have been largely silent on the entire issue of same-sex marriage. Logically, it is a safe course in an effort not to upset the Republican ultra-conservative base, who find nothing to cheer about in the dozens of state and federal court cases that have followed the Supreme Court ruling and found same-sex bans to be unconstitional.

Republican candidates who continue to toe a hardline anti-gay marriage line may be at risk of losing credibility among a growing proportion of voters. Ditto those who look upon transgender individuals as oddities and unnatural, and the strident religious community who feel the same way.

Silence is no longer an option for Republicans, no more than it is for Tea Party members. By disenfranchising transgender men and women, you fail to acknowledge what strength of character and purpose these brave people are.

The world without a Laverne Cox, star of Orange Is the New Black, and cover girl for Time magazine’s June 9, 2014 issue, would be a poorer place. So, too, one without Tig Milan, senior media strategist of national news at GLAAD. Or Jay Kelly, the 11-year-old son of R&B great R. Kelly. And what of C. Riley Snorton (the African-American author of Nobody is Supposed to Know), Marsha P. Johnson (who helped spearhead the Stonewall Riots), seventy-something Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (Executive Director of the Transgender GenderVariant Intersex Justice Project), and Carlett A. Brown (the first African-American to have transgender surgery in the 50s). We love you all—equally and without bias, cherishing you always. . . Until next week. . .

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