WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the freshman congresswoman whose support for QAnon and other extremist conspiracy theories has made her a flashpoint in the House, is facing condemnation again for putting up a sign denying the existence of transgender identities — across the hall from another congresswoman who has a transgender child.
The Republican from Georgia’s back-and-forth with Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., started with Newman’s remarks on the House floor about the Equality Act. The legislation protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans passed the House on Thursday.
Newman talked about the importance of the Equality Act for transgender individuals such as her daughter. Greene then posted a tweet denying her daughter’s gender identity.
“Your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams,” Greene said.
More:Equality Act with LGBTQ protections passes House, faces uncertain future in Senate
In response, Newman displayed a transgender pride flag outside her office and posted a video of her putting it up, saying she wanted Greene to see it. Newman later told New York Magazine that she put up the flag to send a message to a “bully.”
“I’m going to put this flag here so you can see it every day and see about your actions and your hate and your disrespect. So that’s all that was meant to do. It was just making a statement,” she told the magazine after the incident.
Greene, who was removed from her committee assignments in the House over her statements and social media posts supporting false conspiracies, then put up her sign, which reads: “There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE. Trust The Science!”
“Our neighbor, @RepMarieNewman, wants to pass the so-called ‘Equality’ Act to destroy women’s rights and religious freedoms. Thought we’d put up ours so she can look at it every time she opens her door,” Greene tweeted.
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Greene drew backlash on social media, including from Republican Rep Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.
“This is sad and I’m sorry this happened. Rep. Newmans daughter is transgender, and this video and tweet represents the hate and fame driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs,” Kinzinger tweeted in response to Greene’s video.
Progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., slammed Greene for her “bigotry.”
“Protections & rights for transgender folks is literally a life or death issue,” Tlaib tweeted. “To have a congressperson deny their existence & deny their need for rights is cruel and should not be what government is about.”
“I hung mine up for Trans Remembrance Day in 2019 and it’s stayed up since. @RepMTG should probably avoid the Rayburn building too if she doesn’t want to see another “disgusting” symbol of love and acceptance,” tweeted Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
Progressive groups called for action from Facebook after the platform removed Newman’s video, then later restored it citing an “error,” but took no action against Greene’s video.
NARAL Pro-Choice America said that Facebook must be held accountable.
“Facebook is failing all its users and all Americans by inconsistently enforcing its policies. Facebook and other social media companies continue to spread right-wing disinformation and conspiracy theories at the expense of the truth and freedoms of those most marginalized by our society,” the organization said in a statement.
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/25/marjorie-taylor-greene-criticized-anti-transgender-sign-tweets/6822977002/
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