Harrison Tinsley was so excited when he found out he was going to be a dad. His story started in the same way many do – he met a girl, they fell in love, and a baby was soon on the way.
But a nightmare was waiting around the corner.
A few months into pregnancy, the mother of Harrison’s child became hostile toward him when he wouldn’t bend to her political ideology. The two had always been on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but until pregnancy, it had never been an issue.
“I was constantly getting threatened that I wouldn’t see my son if I wasn’t exactly who she wanted me to be, particularly in a political sense,” Harrison tells Allie Beth Stuckey.
“I’m not changing who I am; I’m going to love my son no matter what, and there’s no reason that we have to agree on everything to have a beautiful family,” he continues.
But clearly, the mother didn’t concur.
Their relationship ended, a cease-and-desist letter was issued to Harrison, all communication was cut off, and he was effectively barred from seeing his son.
Shortly after his son’s birth, however, he went to court to establish paternity, visitation, and custody, but the process took months, and by the time Harrison met his son, the boy was fifteen months old.
“Unspeakable heartbreak … it’s like a part of you is just gone that should be there,” he tells Allie.
Fortunately, however, Harrison was able to win half custody and begin making up for lost time with his son.
But then another nightmare reared its ugly head.
Harrison is now fighting for full custody of his son for a number of reasons, the main one being that the child’s mother is raising him as non-binary.
“She would post pictures of him in dresses and makeup,” he says.
But that’s just the beginning.
“There’s defamation of me on social media,” says Harrison – specifically claims that he was abusive during their relationship.
“Which was completely untrue, and I’ve proven that to be untrue in court,” he says.
Then Harrison discovered that his son’s mother was placed on a 5150, which is an involuntary psychiatric hold, for an incident involving head trauma.
“There’s the defamation of me, there’s the gender stuff,” and then “mom was arrested for child endangerment.”
“It was extremely, extremely scary,” he tells Allie.
A trial was held, and to Harrison’s dismay, the court ruled to keep custody the same.
“My son had to continue to see the doctor that the mom preferred, which is a doctor” who believes “it’s okay to treat kids as non-binary,” he explains.
But Harrison isn’t one to give up without a fight.
“If they’re not gonna’ protect my son, I am,” he says, “so I decided I’m gonna scream it from the rooftops and tell as many people … what’s going on and try to get support that way, and I’m appealing the court’s decision to a higher court.”
“That’s where I’m at now. … I’m just speaking out, and it’s now become more than just protecting Sawyer; it’s also about protecting all kids.”
To hear their full conversation, watch the clip below.
Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?
To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.