Idiot Congressman Has Idiotic Thoughts on Transgender Legislation
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Anyone who ever told you “there’s no stupid questions” is wrong. Case in point: In arguing that the transgender rights protected under the Equality Act would enable “bad actors,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R—Fla.) posited, “Consider this possibility, if President Trump were to say, ‘I am now the first female president.’ Who would celebrate that?”
Okay, breathe. Let’s continue.
Gaetz, who’s no stranger to outlandish and harmful statements, uttered these words during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equality Act. This proposed legislation would make discrimination based on gender illegal, thereby protecting the rights of transgender individuals. Many trans people live in poverty because of employment discrimination and in 2013, transgender women made up 72% of the victims of LGBTQ or HIV-motivated homicides. Clearly, protections are necessary.
These very tangible threats mean little to someone like Gaetz, who proceeded to explain that he wouldn’t support the legislation because it “would only nominally protect certain individuals while causing tremendous harm to others.”
“I strongly support the rights of transgender individuals. I will not denigrate or deny their struggles,” he claimed. “But I am concerned about the potential bad actors who would exploit the provisions for their own gain.”