Two members of Congress have taken up the debate on the House Equality Act and in the hallway outside their offices. After Rep. Marie Newman placed a proud transgender flag outside her office, facing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene threw an anti-trance sign outside her own, provoking a backlash.
Newman, an Illinois Democrat who has a transgender daughter, on Wednesday criticized Georgia’s Republican Greene for opposing the Equality Act, an anti-discrimination bill that would extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ people prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Greene filed a motion to adjourn the House on Wednesday in an effort to delay passage of the bill. However, the motion was denied. He also spoke against the bill on the floor of the house, saying that it needs to be suppressed and that he was concerned that transgender women and women could compete in women’s and men’s sporting events.
Newman later shared a video on Twitter in which she is seen placing a banner of transgender pride outside her office. “Our neighbor, @RepMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she thinks banning discrimination against trans-Americans is“ disgusting, immoral, and bad. ”We thought we’d put up our transgender flag so I could look at it every time it opens. the door, “Newman wrote in the tweet.
Hours later, Greene posted a video of his own. There is a sign that says, “There are TWO genders: MALE AND FEMALE.” Trust science! “”
“Our neighbor, @RepMarieNewman, wants to pass the so-called Equality Act to destroy women’s religious rights and freedoms. I thought we would have created ours so he could look at it every time he opens the door, ”Greene tweeted.
The move was greeted with online reactions from some lawmakers, including Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who responded to Greene’s video by writing, “This is sad and I am sorry that this has happened. representative Newmans is trans this video and tweet represents the self-promotion policy driven by hatred and fame at all costs.This rubbish must end in order #RestoreOurGOP. “
Representative Sean Casten (D-IL) tweeted: “Sick, pathetic, unimaginably cruel. This hatred is exactly why #EqualityAct it is necessary and what we must protect @RepMarieNewmanagainst our daughter and all our LGBTQ + loved ones. “
Others, including Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and Rep. Raj Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), also criticized Greene, for calling Newman’s daughter his “biological son” in a tweet.
“There’s no lower minimum than going to pick up someone’s children,” Waxton said he tweeted.
CBS News has contacted Greene and Newman to comment.
Greene is a controversial political figure who was recently stripped of her committee positions by her previous embrace of conspiracy theories and her activity on social media before she was elected to Congress. She has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Equality Act, which is the House it is expected to happen on Thursday.
The bill expands existing federal laws on non-discrimination, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act, to confirm that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is unlawful discrimination on the grounds of sex.
Speaking this week in favor of the House Equality Act, Newman mentioned his daughter, who “years ago came out brave to her parents as transgender people.” Newman said he knows that without this act his daughter can be discriminated against in many states.
“Without the Equality Act, millions of Americans like my daughter can be denied housing, education and more simply because they identify as transgender,” Newman said. wrote on Twitter, sharing a clip of his speech on the floor of the house. “I am voting to pass the Equality Act for my daughter, the strongest and bravest person I know.”