During a recent appearance on ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast — which is never a good place to be — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) claimed that anti-discrimination legislation known as the Equality Act, which protects LGBTQ people in particular, will somehow establish the “supremacy” of non-straight individuals. Her premise, of course, is laughable, but it does reflect the rampant sense of victimhood within the Republican Party. As recent Republican freak-outs over Mr. Potato Head and Dr. Seuss exemplify, if an issue exists, then certain Republicans seem keen on transforming the conversation into a “poor me!” spectacle.
Boebert commented as follows:
‘The Equality Act… we all know that that’s just the Democrats using a play on words. There’s nothing about equality in that act. If anything, it’s supremacy of gays and lesbians and transvestites. I mean like that’s what this is about — it’s about putting them higher than anyone else. It’s not about equality. If you look at the Constitution, then that is where equality is kept secure and held sacred. We have the Fourteenth Amendment that says that all men are equal under the law. So we need to hold that supreme rather than woke ideology.’
Boebert’s allegation that the Equality Act, which recently passed the House, would somehow establish the supremacy of LGBTQ individuals is just wild. Watch her below:
Rep. Lauren Boebert tells Steve Bannon the Equality Act is "supremacy of gays, lesbians and transvestites" pic.twitter.com/j8T2Yx5RxT
— Justin Horowitz (@justinhorowitz_) March 3, 2021
The legislation would amend previous civil rights rules to include anti-discrimination protection for LGBTQ folks — how on earth does one get from that foundation to the idea that the legislation would make LGBTQ people supreme over everyone else? Would Boebert make the same argument against anti-discrimination legislation, like the 1964 Civil Rights Act, that protects Black Americans? Protection from discrimination doesn’t somehow unfairly harm those that would otherwise perpetrate the discrimination, and foundationally, pretending like the Constitution itself hasn’t been amended and added onto with literal centuries of meaningful and necessary legislation is ridiculous.
Boebert isn’t the only far-right member of Congress who’s recently spoken out against the Equality Act. Somehow, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) sounded even more unhinged. Greene characterized the Equality Act as an attack against God, which is just… wow. Anti-discrimination legislation isn’t some kind of anti-religious conspiracy against God! These stunts are what these members of Congress are occupying themselves with rather than the ongoing daily needs of people in their districts.
