YOUR FAVORITE LOGO TV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Dad Gives Incredible Speech About Trans Son Who Attempted Suicide: "Was I Going To Be His Bully?"

"Be as excited about your kid’s life as you were at the sonogram, when ‘we are having a baby’ was enough.”

When Ken Ballard gave a speech about his 14-year-old trans son during Texas' 85th Legislative Session this past winter, he didn't expect to gain the internet's attention. But his poignant message of love resonated with people all over the country.

Ballard was there to fight for equal rights for his son Ashur, who had already attempted suicide twice before coming out to his family.

The loving dad got emotional while talking about discovering that his child was trans through a suicide note that he found in his room.

"Was I going to be his bully?" he said about his fearful initial reactions. "Was I going to try and put him back into a box that fit the rules of my world at the time, or wait it out and see if it would just pass and go back to the way it’d use to be?"

Instead, he and his wife embraced Ashur completely, and the teen is now "flourishing" from the acceptance and inclusion that he's experiencing.

Ballard attended the session to protect his son from laws like Texas' recent "bathroom bill," which has since been rejected by Republican House Speaker Joe Straus. He's hoping that he can encourage people to fight similar anti-LGBT bills in the future.

Advocacy group Equality Texas shared the video of his speech on Facebook recently, and the comment section was instantly flooded with words of love and support in praise of the doting dad.

Ballard said it was great to see such positive comments pouring in, but that it also hurt to think about those people for whom it is too late to fight.

"I...see comments that too many parents missed out on what could have been an amazing journey for them and their child by not accepting them," he said. "Be as excited about your kid's life as you were at the sonogram, when 'we are having a baby' was enough."

Latest News