LGBTQ leaders address the election of Rep. Mike Johnson as the 56th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Speaker Johnson has led anti-LGBTQ efforts for decades sponsoring anti-LGBTQ legislation working for the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom & advocating for the criminalization of marriage equality for our LGBTQ community. Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality stated, “The LGBTQ+ community has faced a relentless barrage of attacks from far-right extremist lawmakers in every Southern state & now Republicans in the House of Representatives have elected an extremist as Speaker. Johnson has made a career out of attacking the LGBTQ+ community at every turn. His positions are out of touch with the clear majority support for LGBTQ+ equality in our country. His new leadership role is just further proof of the dangerous priorities of the GOP & the critical stakes for our democracy & for LGBTQ+ Americans in 2024." Patrick Gaspard, CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund concluded, “This election represents the full & complete takeover of the Republican Party by MAGA extremists, with the American people destined to bear the cost. House Republicans chose a speaker who wants to gut Americans’ health & financial security by slashing Medicare & Social Security by trillions of dollars. He also spearheaded efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election & is at the extreme fringe of right-wing intolerance when it comes to LGBTQ rights. His extremism, evidenced by a record of voting with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) 95 percent of the time, is anathema to who we are as a people.”
I would be hard-pressed to think of a worse member to be elected speaker of the house, not simply for LGBTQ communities, but for the American people. Many of my family members have resided in the 4th Congressional district of Louisiana for decades so I know from personal experience his track record on civil rights and minority issues is clear and stark as our community continues to find itself under attack.
ReplyDeleteAmericans should consider his track record on the preservation and maintenance of our very democracy as one that should concern us all. This entire process of choosing a new speaker of the house has only served to expose even more how MAGA extremism continues to degrade our ability to allow Congress to reconcile the important issues impacting us.
Rep. Mike Johnson has made it known for many years that he does not believe in the fundamental equality of all people. He has sought to deny LGBTQ people legal equality, health care, and dignity, in legislation and through his work for ADF. The new Speaker’s history is thin on legislative leadership, and heavily focused on stripping fundamental freedoms from every American. His proposals, efforts and inaccurate statements against LGBTQ people, against reproductive freedom and against our very democracy, make this nomination a blight in history. Every reporter and voter must continue to ask questions and demand accountability of the new Speaker and every elected official who voted to elevate him. Every American deserves answers from the Speaker and the House majority about what they are doing to improve lives and protect our freedoms, rather than bow to the narrow number of extremists in Congress and society.
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