Politics
Elon Musk pledges to lobby for criminalizing healthcare interventions for transgender youth
Twitter executive estranged from trans child
Elon Musk started Pride month with a series of transphobic tweets that constitute his most extreme attacks against the community to date and included a pledge on Thursday that he will be “actively lobbying to criminalize” healthcare interventions for transgender youth.
Also on Thursday, Musk responded “totally agree” to a tweet from a trans-exclusionary LGB account that said, “LGB don’t even want Pride month anymore. We just want to be separated from the TQ+.”
And then on Friday, the Twitter owner intervened on behalf of anti-trans pundit Matt Walsh when the platform took steps to limit the reach of his “documentary” attacking the community, and then he re-tweeted Walsh’s video.
The New Republic named Walsh “Transphobe of the Year” in 2022, noting that he stood out in a crowded field of hate purveyors, having “raised his profile by spreading grotesque conspiracy theories about groomingā and pedophilia in the LGBTQ community.”
Responding to Musk’s promise to fight for the criminalization of gender affirming care, anti-trans conservative media commentator and University of Toronto Professor Jordan Peterson tweeted, “Prison. Long term. Without Parole. No Mercy. And maybe for the compliant ‘therapists’ and the butchers they enable.” Musk replied, “Absolutely.”
Medical societies that develop and publish clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minor patients do not generally recommend genital surgeries before the age of 18.
Access to the interventions proscribed in these guidelines, which are supported by every mainstream scientific and medical body, have been shown to dramatically reduce rates of depression, suicidal ideation and suicides among trans youth. Studies show rates of post-treatment regret are exceedingly rare.
Musk has long been known as an online provocateur, often taking aim at institutions like Hollywood, big business and the mainstream news media that he believes promote a left-leaning agenda without providing room for dissenting voices.
However, the tech billionaire has increasingly aligned himself with more extreme right-wing politics and conservative political figures like Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who launched his 2024 presidential campaign last week with a Twitter Spaces discussion hosted by Musk just days after signing some of the most extreme anti-trans laws of any state in the country.
Likewise with his public statements concerning the trans community. A few years ago, Musk courted controversy for mocking and complaining about the practice of calling trans and nonbinary people by their preferred pronouns. This week’s anti-trans tirade was markedly more extreme.
Last year, Insider noted Musk’s comments about gender pronouns in its coverage of a Reuters report that the South African-born entrepreneur’s 18-year-old trans daughter had filed papers in a California court to legally change her first and last name and request a new birth certificate.
Per Reuters, the teen said that she no longer wished to be “related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”
A month later, the elder Musk publicly declared his support for the Republican Party. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said the reason for his estrangement from his daughter was “full on communism” in elite colleges and universities.
Politics
Democratic congressmen win re-election in Md.
6th Congressional District race remains too close to call
Maryland’s Democratic congressmen on Tuesday won re-election in their respective districts.
Congressman Jamie Raskin defeated Republican Cheryl Riley in the 8th Congressional District by a 76-22 percent margin. Congressman Glenn Ivey defeated Republican George McDermott in the 4th Congressional District by an 88-12 percent margin. Congressman Steny Hoyer defeated Republican Michelle Talkington in the 5th Congressional District by a 66-34 percent margin. Congressman Kweisi Mfume defeated Republican Scott Collier by a 79-109 percent margin in Maryland’s 7th Congressional District.
Republican Congressman Andy Harris won re-election in the 1st Congressional District with 63 percent of the vote.
Democrat Sarah Elfreth will succeed U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, who did not run for re-election, after she defeated Republican Robert Steinberger in the 3rd Congressional District by a 57-40 percent margin. Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski defeated Republican Kim Klacik by a 56-42 percent margin in the race to succeed retiring Congressman C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger in the 2nd Congressional District.
The race between Democrat April McClain Delaney and former state Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington County) in the 6th Congressional District remains too close to call. The winner will succeed Congressman David Trone, who unsuccessfully challenged now-U.S. Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks in the race for retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin’s seat.
Politics
All 9 LGBTQ House members projected to win reelection
The Democrats serve on the Congressional Equality Caucus
While many U.S. House races are still too early to call and control of the chamber remains in limbo, the nine openly LGBTQ members, all Democrats, either won reelection or were projected to win as of Wednesday morning.
The contests were called for U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Becca Balint (Vt.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), whose seats were considered safe, and for U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (Minn.), Sharice Davids (Kan.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), and Eric Sorensen (Ill.), who were heavily favored to win but faced slightly more competitive races.
U.S. Reps. Mark Takano and Robert Garcia of California were lapping their Republican opponents by double-digit margins, with just over half of the votes counted in their respective congressional districts by Wednesday morning.
Pocan chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus while the other eight serve as co-chairs.
Now that voters have sent Donald Trump back to the White House along with a Republican Senate, the work of LGBTQ members of Congress will become critically important.
Politics
Tammy Baldwin wins reelection in exceptionally close Senate race
Will be the only LGBTQ voice in the upper chamber
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) declared victory over Republican challenger Eric Hovde Wednesday morning, leading him by a margin of 49.4 to 48.5 percent.
āIt is clear that the voters have spoken and our campaign has won,ā she said in a statement.Ā āThe people of Wisconsin have chosen someone who always puts Wisconsin first, someone who shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done.”
Serving as the first openly LGBTQ senator following her election in 2012ā as well as the first non-incumbent LGBTQ member elected to the House, where she represented Wisconsinās 2nd Congressional District from 1999 to 2013 ā Baldwin was targeted with homophobic and anti-trans attack ads by her Republican rival, businessman Eric Hovde, during the 2024 cycle.
A critically important voice for the community, Baldwin was instrumental in the Senate’s passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which codified legal protections for married same-sex couples.
Following the departure of U.S. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) in January, Baldwin will be the only LGBTQ voice in the chamber.
The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates for public office, likely spent more on Baldwin’s race than any other contest this year, the organization’s vice president of political programs told the Washington Blade last month.
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