(AFP) – Democrats and LGBTQ rights advocates expressed outrage Tuesday after a Republican lawmaker introduced a measure that would ban the first openly transgender person elected to the US Congress from using women’s restrooms in the building. The text targets Sarah McBride, who won one of Delaware’s seats in the House of Representatives earlier this month and will take her place in Congress come January.
On Monday, Republican Representative Nancy Mace, a staunch ally of President-elect Donald Trump, introduced the resolution banning transgender women from using female restrooms. The fiery South Carolina congresswoman also explained her thinking on X, posting that “biological men do not belong in private women’s spaces. Period. Full stop. End of story.” Transgender rights are a hot-button issue in the United States, with the participation of trans people in competitive sports and the subject of access to gender-affirming care for minors triggering fiery debate.
Democrats and LGBTQ advocates largely denounced Mace’s effort, categorizing it as an attack on trans people. Calling the proposed resolution “hateful,” US House Democrat Becca Balint said there was “no bottom to the cruelty. We have an obligation to push back.” Mark Pocan, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said the resolution was “a pathetic, attention-seeking attempt to grab Trump’s eye and the media spotlight.” “Trans people, including trans employees, are paying the price,” he said.
Asked Tuesday about the measure, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson deflected, telling reporters: “This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we’re going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus.” McBride herself wrote on X that the maneuver was “a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”
While McBride has acknowledged her groundbreaking status as the first openly trans lawmaker, she has said her legislative priorities will remain “affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, housing, health care, reproductive freedom.”
© 2024 AFP
