Sage Blair and Her Mother Attended State of the Union After Appomattox Lawsuit
sage blair and her mother Michele attended Tuesday’s State of the Union as presidential guests after Michele filed a 2023 lawsuit alleging Appomattox County Schools officials concealed information about Sage’s gender identity and bullying, a case that their supporters say spotlights parental involvement and child safety.
Sage Blair attended the State of the Union with her mother
Appomattox locals Michele and Sage Blair were invited to the State of the Union address in Washington, D. C., and both attended as the president’s special guests, officials noted. Vernadette Broyles, who represents Michele through the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, said in a press release that the invitation "highlights the national conversation on putting parental involvement and child safety first. "
Lawsuit alleges officials concealed Sage’s gender identity and bullying
In 2023, Michele filed a lawsuit against multiple Appomattox County Schools officials and is suing the Appomattox County School Board, accusing them of failing to disclose to the family that Sage was identifying as male and of hiding incidents of bullying. Michele says that concealment ultimately contributed to Sage’s decision to run away.
Michele has said that after Sage ran away, the teen was kidnapped, raped and sex‑trafficked across state lines; those claims are part of the legal and public narrative surrounding the family’s appearance in Washington.
President’s remarks, congressional reaction and audience response
Near the start of a lengthy and lie‑drenched State of the Union speech, President Donald Trump pointed at Democratic members of Congress and exclaimed, "These people are crazy! I’m telling ya — they’re crazy. " At that moment, several Democrats remained seated and refused to stand and applaud when the president called for what he described as a nationwide ban on the ability for trans kids to exist in public, saying, "We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately. "
The president also said, "Surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will, " and the address drew a standing ovation from Republican members of Congress, who rose in response.
How the Blair story is being used in policy fights
Advocates and lawmakers are citing the Blair story as the basis for proposed Virginia legislation that would force schools to notify parents if a student identifies with a gender other than their sex as assigned at birth and would require parental consent for a student to use a new name or pronoun at school. Critics say such a law would essentially mandate forced outing and would put thousands of trans kids at risk.
The public debate around the case has been tied to a wider list of measures already in play in some states: bans on gender‑affirming health care for youth (restricted or banned in at least 27 states), school sports bans, bathroom bans, limits on obtaining correct identification and bans on socially transitioning at school. The context presented in recent coverage frames these policies as interconnected steps that make it difficult for trans kids to live safely and to flourish into adulthood.
Political stakes and an unfinished line in the record
One commentary in the public record argued that with midterm elections approaching, the president will escalate attacks on trans kids, and that Democratic leaders have repeatedly ceded rhetorical ground to the anti‑trans right. The same commentary also noted a false dichotomy framing support for trans people as at odds with a focus on so‑called kitchen‑table economic issues.
The published coverage ends with an incomplete fragment, "Just last week, Democratic California Gov. G, " unclear in the provided context.
With midterm elections approaching, the Blair lawsuit, the president’s remarks and the proposed Virginia measures are all likely to remain active elements in the public debate and legislative proposals now underway.
