Social media influencer Oli London, who has made international headlines for his detransition journey, is decrying overt attacks on free speech amid the ever-contentious transgender battle.
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“This is an attack on free speech,” London said, citing transgender activists’ attempts to silence critics. “It’s the erosion of free speech. It’s the erosion of common sense and normality.”
He specifically cited attacks on former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who was reportedly bombarded by a mob at San Francisco State University (SFSU) earlier this month when she went on campus to speak. The swimmer alleged she was “ambushed and physically hit twice by a man,” as trans activists allegedly kept her “held hostage for hours.”
London said these purported events are completely unacceptable.
“What happened with Riley Gaines is she was giving a speech about protecting women’s sports,” he said. “She was bombarded and she was actually physically punched by a man in the dress. She was held hostage. She was locked in a room for three hours.”
He cited the incident as an “attack on common sense” and said Christians and conservatives are the ones who often find themselves the victims of such circumstances.
“Christians are under attack every day just for talking about their faith,” he said. “We can’t just ignore this. … A lot of people are scared to speak up because they hate to be called transphobic or bigoted, but it’s not transphobic to stick up [for] a woman that is being assaulted.”
London continued, “We all have a duty — men, women, everyone. We need to speak up now because, if we don’t speak up, people are gonna lose their rights. People are gonna lose free speech. And we are seeing all examples across society.”
Watch London discuss these issues:
As CBN’s Faithwire previously reported, London also shared his own journey to faith, explaining how rediscovering God helped convince him to detransition, stop life-altering gender reassignment surgeries, and turn his life around.
“Part of my detransition was … rediscovering faith,” he said, noting he went to church as a young child but by high school was no longer devout — until he decided to detransition. “I really rediscovered my faith journey, because I needed some guidance in my life. I was … very lost, and this really helped me.”
Guilt over his past surgeries and the trauma he caused his family and loved ones eventually drove him to church, something he credits with helping turn his life around.
“Thankfully, I started going to church regularly, and I was able to realize what I was doing and how harmful it was,” he said. “And able to reverse that.”
London said he’s grateful for the church and the “teachings of Jesus,” and said he had to come to accept himself for who God made him to be.
“No matter how we look, how we identify, we are God’s creatures,” he said. “So, we need to learn to accept that.”
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