The Republican Party tried to acknowledge Pride Month. It didn’t go well.
Chasten Buttigieg told RNC chair Ronna McDaniel to 'revisit' her party's anti-LGBTQ platform before speaking about Pride
Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has been slammed for a tweet recognizing Pride Month, given her party’s ongoing assault against LGBTQ rights.
Republican lawmakers and governors across the country have spent this year attacking healthcare for transgender youth and trans athletes participating in sports, and even cut support for the LGBTQ victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.
And that’s without acknowledging the four years spent enduring the Trump administration’s hundreds of attacks on LGBTQ rights, including banning trans people from the military, supporting discrimination against LGBTQ people, and fighting to deny citizenship to the children of gay couples.
But McDaniel seemed to ignore all that in her Pride Month tweet, writing that the GOP is “proud to have doubled our LGBTQ support over the last 4 years.”
“We will continue to grow our big tent by supporting measures that promote fairness and balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs,” she continued.
Happy #PrideMonth!@GOP is proud to have doubled our LGBTQ support over the last 4 years, and we will continue to grow our big tent by supporting measures that promote fairness and balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 2, 2021
McDaniel’s two-faced tweet drew instant rebuke, including from Chasten Buttigieg, writer and husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who told the RNC chairwoman to “re-visit” her party’s anti-LGBTQ platform.
“Those with ‘deeply held religious beliefs’ are often the parents who force their LGBTQ children out of the home and onto the street,” Buttigieg wrote.
“I’ve met with those kids. 40% of homeless youth in this country are LGBTQ,” he continued. “Re-visit your party’s platform before you open your mouth about #pride.”
Those with "deeply held religious beliefs" are often the parents who force their LGBTQ children out of the home and onto the street. I've met with those kids. 40% of homeless youth in this country are LGBTQ. Re-visit your party's platform before you open your mouth about #pride. https://t.co/z36BuFrQsO
— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) June 3, 2021
The current Republican Party platform, which twice-impeached former president Donald Trump campaigned on in 2020, opposes same-sex marriage and supports conversion therapy, a debunked practice which seeks to forcibly change a person’s sexuality or gender identity.
To add insult to McDaniel’s Pride Month injury, one Republican governor, Florida’s Ron DeSantis, even celebrated the start of Pride Month by banning transgender athletes from competing in sports according to their gender identity.
Buttigieg wasn’t alone in criticizing McDaniel for her tweet. LGBTQ rights organization Equality California told her to “keep Pride out of your mouth.”
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride sarcastically asked, “Aren’t they supposed to be the ‘wOrDs HaVe MeAnInG’ party?”
Check out some other reactions below:
The GOP balances protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs in the same way it balances protections for African Americans with those with deeply held white supremacy beliefs. https://t.co/ypncay7jWl
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) June 4, 2021
The official Republican Party platform contains explicit endorsement of parental torture of LGBTQ children with conversion therapy, which the UN has investigated as a form of torture. It is the only major party in the industrialized world with this position https://t.co/GAf91kszrn
— Steve Morris (@stevemorris__) June 3, 2021
Sorry, someone’s deeply held religious beliefs mean shit when we are talking about the basics rights and equality under the law. And most state GOP platforms have significant anti-LGBTQ positions.
— Jesper Tomas (@JesperTomas) June 3, 2021
8 of your governors have signed into law that trans girls and women cannot play high school & college sports on girls’/women’s teams.
One did it on the VERY FIRST DAY of Pride Month.
Miss us with your hypocrisy.
Religion shouldn’t trump another person’s right to be who they are.— Cathy Pegau📚🌈The Demon Equilibrium out Nov. 2021 (@CathyPegau) June 3, 2021
One small perk of being a white gay guy who can blend-in with Republicans:
When Republicans think they’re in friendly company, I get to hear *precisely* what they think of people who aren’t straight/white/Christian/etc.
It isn’t pretty – and you aren’t fooling anyone.
— Calamity-Era Tom (@HylianTom) June 3, 2021
Read More:
‘Ex-gays’ visit DC to complain about LGBTQ rights, not visit recently reopened gay bars
Donald Trump is ‘repulsed’ by LGBTQ people, Michael Cohen claims
Florida’s Republican governor celebrates Pride Month by signing anti-LGBTQ bill
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