Topline
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a loud but marginal member of the Republican Party’s conservative wing, appears to be doubling down on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in the past week—calling for the end of Pride Month, wildly claiming that straight people will become extinct—and also claiming, with the usual dearth of evidence, that the Uvalde gunman was a “cross-dressing loner.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a press conference in front of the Capitol on April 28, … [+]
Key Facts
Greene compared “an entire” Pride Month to the “only one day each year” that Americans honor military members who died serving the country in a tweet on Wednesday—the first day of Pride Month.
She added that “an entire” Pride Month celebrating LGBTQ identity and millions in spending from corporations and the government “needs to end.”
When asked to clarify if Greene was calling for the end of Pride Month entirely, or if she was calling for it to be shortened, Greene’s communications director, Nick Dyer, said, “Her tweet is self-explanatory,” in a statement to Forbes.
Greene baselessly claimed earlier this week that she believes straight people face extinction within 150 years during a segment on her streaming broadcast that airs on her social media accounts.
On the same broadcast, she seemed to follow the same misinformation used by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) to claim that the Uvalde shooter was transgender, using false information and photos of another person.
The attacks come in a year when a spate of legislation on gender and sex education issues in statehouses across the country have many Republicans concerned that the party has drifted into anti-LGBTQ territory.
Crucial Quote
“Probably in about four or five generations, no one will be straight anymore,” Greene said. “Everyone will be either gay or trans or nonconforming or whatever the list of 50 or 60 different options there are.” (According to a Gallup Poll conducted in February, 86.3% of Americans consider themselves to be straight, and Gallup has noted it is still unclear if generational increases are due to “a true shift in sexual orientation” or if it “reflects a greater willingness of younger people to identify as LGBT.”)
Surprising Fact
Last year, Greene cosponsored legislation that would ban U.S. embassies from flying Pride flags. (The bill stood virtually no chance of passing.) In a statement at the time, she said, “The federal government should only be flying the flag that represents ALL people, the American flag.”
What To Watch For
Greene won her primary last week, even after a group of Georgia voters sued to have her removed from the ballot, arguing she “voluntarily aided and engaged in an insurrection” in the days between being sworn into Congress on January 3, 2021, and the January 6 attack on the Capitol—acts the group claimed was a violation of the 14th Amendment. Greene had to testify as part of the suit, though a judge ultimately recommended she should not be disqualified for being an “insurrectionist” and remain on the midterm ballot—a decision that was upheld by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R). The midterm elections will be held November 8.
Further Reading
Did Marjorie Taylor Greene Say ‘Peach Tree Dish’ Instead Of Petri Dish? (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan/2022/06/01/marjorie-taylor-greene-doubles-down-on-anti-lgbtq-rhetoric-suggests-pride-month-needs-to-end/