- Adam Kinzinger criticized Marjorie Taylor Greene for hanging a sign stating the binary genre in the hallway of Marie Newman’s office.
- Newman, who has a trans daughter, placed a transgender flag in front of Greene’s office.
- Lawmakers are discussing the Equality Act.
- Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.
Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger called his colleague, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter, for hanging a sign stating a gender binary outside his office.
The sign, which faced the office of Rep. Marie Newman, said: “There are TWO genders: MALE AND WOMAN.” It also featured the phrase “trust science!” in quotes.
Newman, a Democrat from Illinois, has a transgender daughter.
Greene tweeted a video of her hanging the sign and wrote: “Our neighbor, @RepMarieNewman, wants to pass the so-called ‘Equality’ Act to destroy women’s rights and religious freedom.”
“I thought about putting ours on so she could look whenever she opened the door,” said Greene.
—Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) February 25, 2021
Kinzinger, an anti-Trump Republican, retweeted the video, saying he was sad and sorry and noting that Newman’s daughter is transgender. He said that “this video and tweet represents the self-promotion policy guided by hatred and fame at all costs”.
“This garbage must end in order to #RestoreOurGOP”, said Kinzinger.
Greene’s sign and video were a direct response to Newman, who first placed a transgender flag outside his office, right in front of Greene.
—Congresswoman Marie Newman (@RepMarieNewman) February 24, 2021
Newman tweeted a video of herself hanging the flag and said, “Our neighbor, @RepMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she believes that prohibiting discrimination against trans-Americans is ‘disgusting, immoral and evil’.”
“I thought about putting our transgender flag so that she could look whenever she opens the door,” said Newman.
The scientific consensus is that gender is a spectrum and many people exist between male and female identities.
Greene and Newman are facing the Equality Act
Lawmakers were discussing the Equality Act, a bill that House representatives will vote on this week that would prohibit discrimination based on “sex, gender identity and sexual orientation”.
The Equality Act has broad support among Democrats, but opponents believe it would infringe on religious freedom. They also argued that this would harm women, for example, by preventing them from playing sports, prisons and changing rooms exclusively for women.
But the project’s proponents say it would provide consistent protections against discrimination to LGBTQ people.
If passed, the legislation would amend existing civil rights laws to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected features. However, it would also expand the protections normally covered, such as employment and housing, to include a category called “public accommodation”, which includes retailers.
This expansion is significant for defenders of religious freedom, as it may make it illegal for a baker, for example, to deny making a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, claiming that this is against their religion.
The bill has been presented several times in the past and even passed in the Democratic-controlled House in 2019. The Equality Act is likely to pass the House again this week. However, the bill would need 60 votes in the Senate to avoid an obstruction, but at least one decisive vote known to the Republican Party indicated opposition.
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah told Washington Blade that he would not vote to pass the law, citing “protections for religious freedom”.
Got a news tip? Contact this reporter at [email protected].