Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel Wednesday evening posted a tweet wishing the LGBTQ community “Happy #PrideMonth.”
It did not go over well.
The GOP has been at war with the LGBTQ community at every turn, and considerably ramped up their attacks this year.
“2021 has officially surpassed 2015 as the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history,” the Human Rights Campaign reported in early May.
More than 250 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures in 2021, including:
At least 35 bills that would prohibit transgender youth from being able to access best-practice, age-appropriate, gender-affirming medical care
At least 69 bills that would prohibit transgender youth (and in some cases college students) from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity
At least 43 bills that would allow people to assert a religious belief as justification for failing to abide by the law or provide services to people of whom they disapprove
At least 15 bills that would prohibit transgender people from having access to restrooms or locker rooms consistent with their gender identity
As of May 4, one month ago, 17 of those bills had already been signed into law – more than in the last three years combined.
There are more.
For example, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated the start of Pride Month by signing into law June 1 an anti-trans bill banning transgender girls from participating in women’s sports, and he chose a private Christian school – which does not need a law to ban trans girls from sports – as the venue to sign the bill into law, sending a very strong message as to whom he is trying to please.
DeSantis, a top Trump supporter who is believed to be a 2024 presidential hopeful, followed that up with vetoing pro-LGBTQ legislation on June 2.
“Just days from the five-year remembrance of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub massacre,” The Orlando Sentinel reports, “DeSantis on Wednesday vetoed $150,000 in state funds that would have provided counseling for survivors — despite a budget that has $9.5 billion in reserves. And in what advocates describe as ‘war’ on LGBTQ+ Floridians, the governor also eliminated $750,000 approved by the Florida Legislature for the Orlando-based Zebra Coalition to create housing for homeless gay and transgender youth.”
McDaniel’s tweet makes clear the GOP is only interested in even claiming to support LGBTQ protections as long as the “rights” of conservative Christians are not touched. The hundreds of bills stripping those protections and imposing even worse restrictions on LGBTQ people, especially minors, expose her tweet as a lie, but it’s revealing to know the Republican Party is willing to prioritize the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans over the religious right.
Here’s how some are responding to the GOP Chair’s tweet.