<a href="https://vt.co/entertainment/gabrielle-union-defends-wearing-g-string-bikinis-after-troll-said-she-was-old-enough-to-be-a-grandma">Gabrielle Union</a> has opened up about the family's move from Florida due to safety concerns for her daughter. While appearing on the cover of Parents' first-ever digital issue, Union, 50, and her husband Dwyane Wade, 41, talked about the family's transition from Florida to California. "There are a lot of reasons we decided California was best for our family and finding a community for Zaya was a big part of that," Wade said of his 16-year-old transgender daughter. "We felt that California was a place that would allow her to blossom and grow," he continued. "She’s going to be a Junior in high school now and she’s been able to be accepted and become her here." <img class="wp-image-1263223250 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/08/GettyImages-1478259487.jpg" alt="" width="705" height="1024" />[[imagecaption|| Zaya Wade and Gabrielle Union attend the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty]] The couple cited Florida's changing laws and how they embody elements of transphobia. "When you have the kind of rhetoric that is being espoused in Florida and adopted into law, that's not an option if my child isn't safe there," Union elaborated on the issue. "We have family and friends who don't have the privilege of moving," she continued. "So, we are going to be fighting till we are out of breath to protect all kids who are oppressed. "That is our responsibility as people with large platforms and as people who folks trust, and they trust us because we say the hard thing," she added. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/CuSy-dLpU0h/]] Zaya came out as transgender back in 2020 with the full support of her family. "She's the strong one in this family. She's a hero," Dwyane <a href="https://people.com/parents/who-is-zaya-wade-dwyane-wade-daughter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in June 2021 as per <a href="https://people.com/parents/who-is-zaya-wade-dwyane-wade-daughter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PEOPLE</a>. "It's our family's job to make sure that we listen to her. We listen to the doctors. We ask questions and we formulate our own ideas of how Zaya should be and should be raised in this world and we don't allow others to do that for us." Elsewhere in the Parents' interview, the celebrity parents also talked about how they teach their other daughter, four-year-old Kaavia James important life lessons. "Compassion for herself," Union told the outlet. "So often, we’re drilled to be compassionate to everybody else, but we leave ourselves out of that compassion umbrella and let ourselves get drenched and drowned in self-loathing and self-judgment. "And when you breed compassion in your home, [kids] can't help but live it and expect it," she added. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/CnIcop8JF78/]] "This is my first time raising a little girl from this age. Zaya came to us older," Wade also said. "I don't know what Kaav's going to choose for herself. But if she does choose a man, I want her to look at that man she chooses and say you have to measure up to my daddy. So, the bar will be set high." Wade and Union's latest cover story is available to read <a href="https://www.parents.com/back-to-school-2023-7546642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. <h6>Featured Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty</h6>

Gabrielle Union says her family left Florida because daughter Zaya 'isn't safe there'

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