The cost of loving her son... 

In six days, Shana Gaviola must report to prison. Her crime is loving her son enough to intervene when he started harming himself.  

Shana’s teenage son had descended into a crisis. He had struggled behaviorally from a young age. At 13, he announced that he was a girl. He wanted a female name. He wanted medical interventions intended to change his sex characteristics.  

His mother said no, because she believed loving him was best shown by refusing to lie to him. This crisis appeared to have passed. But it hadn't ... and it was exactly her decision to act out of love for her son that eventually led to her prison sentence. 

But if the "Equality Act" passes, it would force Americans to bow before the same ideology that subjects children to sex-rejecting gender transition surgeries. And then punishes anyone who refuses to pretend this chaos is anything but evil.  

Tell Congress to stop this now by REJECTING the “Equality Act.”

What Shana didn’t realize was that the public school her son attended was quietly treating him as a girl, without telling Shana. The school was even directing him toward information about transgender medical interventions with permanent consequences. 

The distance between mother and son quietly widened. 

Shana had an existing custody decree identifying her as his custodial parent. She believed she had legal authority to make decisions about his care. So, she hired a youth transport team, including former law-enforcement personnel, to take her son to a Christian boarding school in Missouri.  

Shana believed she was sending her son somewhere that could help him. But the federal government called her love and action a crime. 

This is happening, even before the Equality Act passes. Imagine the horrors that could face parents and grandparents afterward! We must stop this bill from passing! 

DEMAND Congress VOTE NO on this live bill, the so-called "Equality Act," in both the House and Senate. Send your fax by selecting here.

What Shana hoped was the best solution for her son was only the beginning of a nightmare for her. Prosecutors charged her with interstate violation of a protection order. A California jury found her guilty. 

And the worst part? The judge in her case barred her defense from presenting her son's school records and evidence concerning the circumstances that led to his living outside her home. The judge refused to allow the reasons that led her to such a drastic intervention for her son's welfare. The judge simply directed the jurors to decide whether she violated the protection order or not.  

Shana, with no prior criminal record, was sentenced to three years behind bars for making a desperate attempt to intervene before something worse could happen to her son. In just six days, on Aug. 24, 2026, Shana is scheduled to leave her three other children and surrender herself to prison 

If the Equality Act passes Congress, it will lead to much, much worse.  

Our team is on Capitol Hill right now working to block this bill and ask for an appeal for Shana. Our goal is to protect the next family facing this challenge. Will you stand with us and help keep this fight going? We rely on your support to continue this critical work.  

Your gift to Liberty Counsel Action helps put our team in the halls of Congress, face to face with lawmakers, fighting to stop dangerous bills like the Equality Act before they become the law of the land. 

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Mat Staver, Chairman
John Stemberger, President
Liberty Counsel Action

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Source:  

Friday, Erin. “California Mother Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison Over Trans-identified Son’s Transport to Christian Boarding School Seeks Presidential Pardon,” The Post Millennial, August 11, 2026. Thepostmillennial.com/california-mother-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison-over-trans-identified-sons-transport-to-christian-boarding-school-seeks-presidential-pardon.