Democratic candidate and outspoken LGBTQ ally Reed Showalter sent back a survey from an anti-LGBTQ group in spectacular fashion—with a glitter bomb ready to erupt the moment the envelope’s seal was broken. This is the type of news I love to see—congresspeople and prospective congresspeople fighting back against the bigotry the LGBTQ community has been forced to navigate.
Reed Showalter, the unapologetic ally running for the U.S. House of Representatives 7th congressional district of Illinois, posted a reel on instagram of him filling an envelope with vials of glitter with the caption “sometimes we also get to have fun with crafts.” If you ask me this is the type of human being we need more of to represent our country—someone with a sense of humor and unyielding in the policies he is running his campaign around.
Showalter starts his instagram reel with, “One of the funny things about running for office is, you get inundated with a bunch of questionnaires from organizations asking what your positions are to consider whether they will endorse you or whether they will campaign actively against you, including some of the strangest, most goblin-y people on earth.” He then begins to verbally skim through the letter he has in front of him from the Illinois Family Institute.
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The first thing he points out was the organization’s self-proclaimed mission to “boldly bring a Biblical perspective to public policy in the Land of Lincoln.” Honestly, that statement alone is enough to tell me this group is deeply problematic—and I say that as a queer Christian. A Biblical perspective does not belong in public policy; that is the whole point of the separation of church and state. Additionally, there is nothing biblical about denying human rights and spreading harmful narratives.
Showalter then moves through the letter, calling out the organization’s blatant transphobia. The survey mentions its opposition to “biologically male individuals competing in female sports” not once, but twice. Showalter notes that their fixation only targets trans women, adding that “they’re obsessed with it.”
Toward the end of his reel, he sums it up plainly: “If it isn’t obvious, this organization is gleefully homophobic.” He then opens the envelope to pour glitter inside, referring to it—with perfect dramatic timing—as “the seasoning.”
Needless to say, I don’t think the Illinois Family Institute will be endorsing Reed Showalter, which is fine because their endorsement would only harm his campaign.
Much of this year has felt like a fever dream or dystopian nightmare—take your pick. Sometimes I find it hard to find hope that things will get better. When I see people running for Congress like Showalter, it gives me a glimmer of hope for the future, a similar sense of hope as when I see people in Congress like AOC and Jasmine Crockett speaking out against the dumpster fire the current administration has been throwing gasoline on.
Image from Instagram @Reedforcongress
