To be offended by stickers does not give anyone legal justification to take them down, according to Burlington GOP Chair Christopher-Aaron Felker.

The stickers that provoked a controversy in the Queen City recently said “No one is ever born in the wrong body” and treatments for trans people can cause “lifelong medical dependency.”

In an interview with True North, Felker said “we do not censor speech in this country simply because it offends.”

“Calling something hate speech, that is a colloquial term that has zero meaning legally,” Felker said.

Christopher-Aaron Felker

Felker said that while he was not involved in putting up any stickers, he became involved in defending them from being taken down based on free speech principles.

“Stickering is a common form of political speech in all urban areas throughout the country including Burlington, and I’ve lived here for 10 years,” he said. “I’ve seen tons of stickers for pro-choice organizations, for pro-abortion, for political candidates, for different events in town, the AFL-CIO, Black Lives Matter, and even the city’s own Community and Economic Development Office will post things up.”

Felker notes that those who may be offended by liberal-leaning stickers — for example pro-abortion stickers in town — have never urged censorship of those voices.

“Even though we’re not exactly the most religious city, we definitely have a substantial percentage of our population that’s Catholic,” Felker said. “I believe that Catholics would find the pro-abortion stickers to be offensive. I don’t see them screaming for the arrest of any of the pro-choice activists in town.”

The stickers

Concerning the content of the stickers in question, Felker said the claim that people are never born in the wrong bodies is one of compassion.

“It is not a message of hate, it is a message of love,” Felker said.

He said the claim that trans medical treatments can cause “lifelong medical dependency” is true.

“The male body is not intended to process those levels of estrogen, and the female body is not intended to process those levels of testosterone,” Felker said.

Women’s rights and public education

Felker also spoke out about other related topics, saying women have a right to private spaces and should not be forced to compete in sports against biological males who have transitioned.

“If that’s in conflict with what the transgender activists are advocating for then maybe we really do need to have a long conversation about this instead of just saying ‘this isn’t up for debate’. This is the United States and everything, as far as public policy is concerned, is open for debate,” he said.

He also said public schools that introduce transgenderism into the classroom are “driving a wedge between the parents and the schools.”

Is Vermont an outlier?

Polling data by Harvard University shows that a strong majority of Americans disagree with giving gender-affirming drugs to youth — 78 percent said they’re against it, and 22 percent said it’s appropriate.

“Vermont is out of touch with the majority of Americans on this,” Felker said.

GOP governor not protecting the children

Gov. Phil Scott signed bills this legislative session that give legal protections for those who perform abortions as well as transgender surgeries.

“Governor Scott said we need to have these conversations, but he has made no effort to actually sit down and have them,” Felker said.

Is history repeating itself?

Felker noted that Vermont already has a history with the eugenics movement, which involved the sterilization of young people.

“It’s sad that time seems to be repeating itself. You know 100 years ago Vermont was the hub for the eugenics movement, and we’re right there back to sterilizing young vulnerable kids again,” he said.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.