Global Courant 2023-04-11 08:40:16
A Florida Republican state legislator apologized Monday after calling transgender people “demons” and “mutants” during a legislative hearing.
State Representative Webster Barnaby had earlier today lashed out at transgender people at a Commerce Commission hearing on the Safety in Private Spaces Act, an invoice that would criminalize the use of toilets that match people’s gender identity when the toilets don’t match their “biological sex.”
Barnaby, who called himself a conservative Christian, firmly defended the bill, saying he was “not on the fence” about what it would do.
“We have people living among us today on planet Earth who like to pretend to be mutants from another planet. This is planet Earth with God-created men, men, and women, women,” he said.
“That’s right, I called you demons and imps who come parading in front of us pretending to be part of this world,” he added.
Barnaby later apologized.
“I want to apologize to the trans community for referring to you as demons,” he said.
Barnaby, who was first elected to the Florida House in 2020, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
In recent years, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the GOP-dominated state legislature have enacted laws banning classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools, and related measures are being considered during the current legislature.
Florida last month joined more than half a dozen other states in restricting transition-related medical care for minors. The Florida Medical Board entered a rule that prohibits minors from starting puberty blockers or hormone therapy, prompting opposition from parents of transgender youth in the state.
