Kenneth Hanigan: State went too far in giving sex-change operation to prisoner

Re “California funds first U.S. inmate sex change” (Page 5A, Jan. 7): As an openly gay man, I support sex changes for men and women who decide to have this operation through the process of dealing with their insurances and privately paying because it is necessary for their mental health and well being. But when we have children going to school without adequate clothing and food, and homeless veterans living on the street, it is not appropriate for our tax dollars to go to inmates, who chose to commit acts of extreme violence which landed them in prison, for the same purpose. Prisoners deserve to be fed and clothed and kept warm, but I think we are going too far when the prisoners are given opportunities non-prisoners have a difficult time getting.

I think Donald Trump should take a good hard look at this area. The man who received the gender-reassignment operation was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery.

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Kenneth Hanigan: State went too far in giving sex-change operation to prisoner."