My heart grieves for Joshua Alcorn, as well as for his family and other loved ones. I do not have a child who identifies as being transgender, however I had a father who did. Our family faced many decisions as my dad left our home to pursue and proclaim his new identity as a woman. One of the decisions we faced was the name by which we would refer to him. His wife -- my mother -- knew him as Harold. His children knew him as Dad. To me he was “Dad.” Some have accused me of being insensitive or disrespectful of my dad’s desires. Simply writing that sentence required some deep reflection and introspection. Even if I had acquiesced and addressed him (her) as Becky, doing so would not have changed his relationship to me. He was my father, the one whose seed implanted me in my mother’s womb. Semantics would never change that. Neither would his hormone treatments, or even radical body-altering changes. I was not being spiteful. I loved my dad. I loved him enough...(Read Full Article)