During a recent White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered a powerful message calling out the ongoing assault on LGBTQ+ Americans by the Republican Party. As the first openly gay person to hold her position, Jean-Pierre’s perspective on the issue is unique. She highlighted recent instances where GOP leaders have called for the eradication of transgender people and attacked marriage equality protections for same-sex couples in states like Iowa and Tennessee.
Jean-Pierre went on to draw attention to the more than 450 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced at the state level so far this year. She specifically called out Republicans in Florida, who introduced 20 bills on a single day aimed at rolling back the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. One of those bills, she noted, would give the state the right to remove kids from their parents just because that kid is transgender.
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The press secretary passionately appealed to Americans to put themselves in the shoes of young trans kids who are forced to listen to elected officials talk about taking away their rights and even threatening their parents with felony charges for seeking health care for their children. She pointed out that the same leaders who tout freedom apparently don’t extend their love for freedom to those who disagree with them on matters of sexuality, gender identity, and parenting.
Jean-Pierre concluded her remarks by assuring the LGBTQ+ community that they have the support of President Biden and his administration. She made it clear that there is no asterisk over the word “freedom” in this country and that the administration will not hesitate to call out the behavior of those who seek to undermine the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Americans. Republicans, she argued, are engaging in government overreach at its worst by attempting to legislate who people are, who they love, and how they parent.
Recent Republican attacks on queer and transgender people have included legislation in Texas to create a bounty system that rewards those who sue organizers of drag brunches or drag queens generally if children were able to view them in public. In Tennessee, Republicans have criminalized drag performances that are accessible to children by making a first offense a misdemeanor and subsequent ones felonies. As Jean-Pierre made clear in her remarks, such measures are not only hateful and discriminatory but also fundamentally at odds with the values of freedom and equality that are supposed to define this country.
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