A father in Canada has been released from jail after he was arrested for breaking a gag order prohibiting him from publicly objecting to his trans-identifying daughter.
Robert Hoogland of British Columbia had been sentenced to an additional six months in jail last month after violating a court order that forbade him from speaking publicly about his objections to his teenage daughter taking testosterone.
He was released recently on bail on the condition that he maintains good behavior and keeps the peace. He must also stay employed and cannot leave the province of British Columbia.
Again, he is not allowed to directly or indirectly disclose his daughter’s gender identity, physical health, mental health or treatments.
According to The Christian Post, Rebel News Network has applied to get the media ban lifted.
Hoogland’s daughter was born female but prefers the use of male pronouns. Hoogland filed litigation against his daughter’s mother, arguing that his child needed his permission for gender transition treatments. The child’s mother supported the transition. The couple is separated.
The B.C. Supreme Court decided earlier this year that Hoogland cannot interfere with his child’s transition treatments.
Previously, Hoogland had reached out to media outlets and started an online fundraiser for his legal expenses.
“I am fighting the far-left base on a civil disobedience defense!” he said in a post.
“What happens when the bubble explodes, and the delusion ends?” he said. “She can never go back to being a girl in the healthy body she should have had.”
The judges wrote, however, in their decision that the father has caused his child “significant pain.”
“His refusal to respect (the child’s) decisions regarding his gender identity is troublesome,” Chief Justice Robert Bauman and Justice Barbara Fisher wrote in their decision.
“If he fails to do these two things, the rupture in his relationship with (his child) will likely not heal, which would not be in (the child’s) best interests.”
Photo courtesy: Teddy Osterblom/Unsplash
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.