Colorado Republicans seem to have dropped the entire pretense of pretending not to hate LGBTQ people and are now just saying the quiet part out loud. Last month, according to CPR, the Republican Executive Committee adopted a resolution formally rebuking some of their own party members for signing on to a letter back in May in support of Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr, a transgender woman who serves as a legislator in Montana’s House of Representatives.
Back in April, according to Forbes, Zephyr was banned from the floor of the Montana House for speaking out against a ban on gender-affirming care that has since been signed into law. Zephyr told her fellow lawmakers that they would have “blood on their hands” in reference to the depressingly high suicide rates among transgender youth.
CPR reports that, in May, Colorado’s own first openly transgender representative in the Colorado House, Rep. Brianna Titone, spearheaded a letter in support of Zephyr. The letter was mostly only signed by Democrats, but a few Republicans crossed party lines and showed real courage in signing onto the letter, namely Rep. Ron Weinberg of Loveland, Rep. Rick Taggart of Grand Junction, Castle Pines Councilman Roger Hudson, and Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon.
The resolution adopted by the Republican Executive Committee apologized to Montana Republicans “For the disgraceful actions of the four elected local and state Republican officeholders who were willing pawns to an outrageous publicity stunt on behalf of the Colorado House Democrats and Rep. Brianna Titone.”
Councilman Hudson responded with a formal statement to the party arguing that such a resolution is a waste of time and resources. “The state party has one single function, as you all well know, TO GET REPUBLICANS ELECTED. The resolution presented here is counter to that purpose and only weakens us.”
The Colorado Republicans’ overt hatred towards trans people became evident when their State Party Chair Dave Williams promoted hate speech and misinformation in fundraising email to members. “Radical Democrats support groomers who ‘teach’ your children about so-called gender-affirming care… this is sick, and the Colorado Republican Party will speak against it even if misguided members of our party unwittingly help democrats push it,” says the email.
As for Rep. Weinberg, he seems to be the Republican in this whole scenario with the most morals out of any of them. According to The Denver Post, back in March after what should have been a routine vote in the Colorado House to commemorate efforts to pass an Equal Rights Amendment, the discussion devolved into Republican hate speech about bathrooms and women’s sports, as the GOP tried to insert anti-trans and anti-choice rhetoric into a simple resolution.
The next day, Rep. Titone spoke out against the Republican vitriol over the issue of transgender rights, saying that none of the Republican lawmakers had the courage to look her in the eye while demeaning her worth as a person. “Whether you like it or not, I am your colleague,” says Titone on the House floor. “Whether you believe me or people like me should exist, I do exist. And I am your equal in this chamber. I accomplished the same thing you did to be here.”
During Titone’s speech, three Republicans stood in respect for her remarks, with one of them being Weinberg, who was seen wiping tears from his eyes. “I see her as a person,” he told the Post. “I don’t care. It’s not on us to judge anybody.” Whatever you think about Weinberg’s policies as a whole, it’s still refreshing to see a Republican with respect for transgender people.
Picture courtesy of The Denver Post on Twitter
