Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is launching an attack on the transgender community. On Wednesday she tried to block the Equality Act on the House floor. The act would “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes.” Greene made things personal when she directly tweeted transphobic comments against Congresswoman Marie Newman (D-IL), who has a transgender daughter.
Some, like Greene, have also claimed the bill would roll back protections for women by allowing transgender people to participate in sports and extending discrimination protections based on gender identity, rather than biological sex. Critics have panned those arguments as transphobic.
On Wednesday, Newman decided to troll Greene by putting up a Transgender flag outside her office “so she (Greene) can look at it every time she opens her door.”
Greene then doubled down on her transphobic stance tweeting, “God created ONLY TWO genders.” She also hung a sign outside her office stating “There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE. Trust The Science.”
Many of Greene’s colleagues (on both sides of the aisle) are condemning her actions. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) wrote, “Sickening, pathetic, unimaginably cruel. This hate is exactly why the #EqualityAct is necessary and what we must protect @RepMarieNewman’s daughter and all our LGBTQ+ loved ones against.”
Newman addressed the incident this morning on CNN.
As for the future of the Equality Act, it is expected to pass. The Washigton Post points out, “If the legislation succeeds in the House, it will move on to the Senate, where it could pass but may be challenged with a filibuster if Democrats cannot persuade 10 Republicans to join them. President Biden has already said he would sign the bill into law if it is passed.”