I applaud this woman's hearfelt sentiments but I have to confess to the flaw in my nature that makes me the hardened cynic that I am.

Would this lady have been so compassionate and demonstrative about gay mariages and gay rights if her daughter (Whom she obviously loved and still loves, even after 'coming out'.)

In my long years of intergenderism (61 years since realising I was somehow 'different') I have met several sets of bigoted parents who have been forced, one way or another, to come to terms with their children's LGBT natures and then been forced to eat crow or lose all contact. In one instance I was instrumental in reconciling four parents to their daughters' lesbianism when they didn't even know they were grandparents. I knew these two sets of parents to be homophobic when I met them at an 'Ethnic Minority' fair in Cardiff. It took me a year to get them reconciled to their grand child, (Now grandchildren in Bristol.) The girls were one Asian and one Oriental. They were lovely girls and sweet natured.

The parents had been so censorious and homophobic to their daughters that the girls were terrified of going home and even more terrified that their parents would try to have the child taken off them.

I met the grandparents completely by accident at an Ethnic Minorities fair in Cardiff and suddenly realised who they were. They started haranguing me because I was 'dressed' as a woman until I managed to point out to them that I was every bit as much part of a minority as they were.

They had been listening to me asking the organisers of the fair why there was no section or stall set out to represent transgender people. (There wasn't even a gay stall.) Then I pointed out that there were LGBT people amongst the ethnics, they (the organisers,)slowly acknowledged my argument.

Then these people overheard me discussing the issues with the local authority representatives who organised the fair and they tried to shout me down for being a pervert. I simply waited for them to finish Ranting at me and then pointed out I was born intergendered just like the vast majority (If not all!) LGBT people were born thus; like me.

The two men stormed off but the two women finally got talking and they explained why their husbands were angry. Each of their daughters had 'Run away' to live with a girl friend and they had lost contact. As I was looking at the Asian women, I thought I could see a resemblance so I took a huge gamble. I asked her if her daughter's name was --- ---- ----. She looked at me shocked but fortunately, because she was a woman,so I didn't feel intimidated. After recovering her composure, she confirmed it was her daughter's name.

Then, because the other woman was from a different race that seemed to be the same as my other Bristol lesbian friend. I asked if her daughter was XXX XXX XXX. After I hazarded this other daughter's name to the other mother both women stared at me almost stupified. They must have thought I was some sort of plant or spy but it was a totally accidental meeting. They had visited the fair in the hope of finding something out and they HAD!

After a long chat I finally convinced them that LGBT people were nearly always born LGBT (I believe every genuinly LGBT person is thus born and it's not a choice!)

I used the old argument by asking them; "Would I choose to dress this way just to incur the wrath and danger from transphobes?". Then and only then were they even remotely prepared to let me say just a few more very important words. (Mainly because they were desperate to find their daughters.)

I point blank refused to tell them where the girls were living and the poor women tried to get a police-woman involved to compell me. The police woman explained that as the girls were over eighteen, I was not required to give any information. Except to show good will, I gave my name and address privately to the police-woman. Then I agreed to meet the two mothers again when I was next in Cardiff and only after speaking to their daughters in Bristol. (It was only then I learned that --- was pregnant.)

Over the telephone --- and XXX agreed to accompany me to meet their mothers at a neutral rendezvous away from their father's anger.

On seeing that her daughter --- was pregnant the first mother broke down in tears as she seemed to reconcile herself to her daughter's sexuality. The other mother has also since reconciled but only after XXX became pregnant.

That is why I just can't help wondering if the senator in the vidoe was always tolerant of LGBT or if she's had an epiphany after her daughter's coming out.

Either way it's still an excellent thing that this legislator has expressed these views, but I think readers of this will understand why I'm such a hard-bitten cynic.

I work hard on behalf of the LGBT scene in South Wales but it's difficult when my own wife is paranoid about my 'being recognised' and I have to work behind the scenes to keep my own wife sane. I can never leave her, I owe her my sanity and my life from my middle years (Twenties to fifties.)

Beverly Taff. Intergendered Transvestite.