It’s tutu late to say sorry, LGBT allies tell Wyoming congressman
Cross LGBT supporters in Wyoming at your peril.
Last week, Republican Congressman Mike Enzi told a group of school children that “men in dresses” are “asking for” homophobic assaults.
He told the students at Greybull High School: “We always say that in Wyoming you can be just about anything you want to be, as long as you don’t push it in somebody’s face.
“I know a guy who wears a tutu and goes to bars on Friday night and is always surprised that he gets in fights.”
The comments were particularly horrifying because of the brutal homophobic murder of Laramie, Wyoming resident Matthew Shepard in 1998.
Shephard, 21, was robbed, beaten and left to die while tied to a fence.
Enzi, who has a strongly anti-LGBT record in Congress, attempted to apologise for his comments, claiming he “regrets a poor choice of words”.
But the good people of Wyoming weren’t about to let such hateful comments slide.
So they retaliated – in the best way possible.
The #LiveAndLetTutu movement began last week, and exploded over the weekend, with photos and messages of support pouring in from all over the country.
Bars in the state offered special deals for those wearing tutus, and unsurprisingly, there were no reports of anyone asking to be attacked.
As a logo, the group chose the Wyoming flag, which features a buffalo – and dressed it in a lovely pink tutu.
Tutu wearing time in Laramie….if Enzi shows up He should be wary as he asked for it. #LiveandLetTutu pic.twitter.com/Z4mHdp05NK
— Greg Hunter (@GregTheTourist) April 28, 2017
#liveandlettutu at the Lander Bar pic.twitter.com/xPvVFx9sP7
— Katherine Boehrer (@kboehrer) April 29, 2017
#liveandlettutu was a success! 2 stepped with Sissy at the @buckhorn bar & @sweet Melissa’s/thank you Laramie! pic.twitter.com/2s7ohIQtPK
— WyomingEquality (@WyoEquality) April 29, 2017
Bridger Houser with some West Coast #LiveAndLetTutu solidarity.https://t.co/alA0EwHa2r pic.twitter.com/fi8sX1lXfB
— Trevor Houser (@TrevorGHouser) April 29, 2017
Hey @SenatorEnzi three friends walked into a bar wearing tutus and they weren’t “asking for it”. #liveandlettutu #Wyoming #Equality pic.twitter.com/MQpj9c3zc8
— AMCuprill (@AMCuprill) April 29, 2017
So Ali and I walked into a bar and asked for a beer. We got em,@SenatorEnzi. #liveandlettutu pic.twitter.com/uoViglV7cP
— Dave’s not here (@writesdave) April 29, 2017
Unfortunately, Enzi’s apology also didn’t stop Fox News pundit Erick Erickson from writing a blog claiming people in the “BLT&GQ community… go around making people uncomfortable”.
Writing on his blog The Resurgent, regular Fox contributor Mr Erickson wrote: “I’m really damn tired of all the people running around making other people extremely uncomfortable then screaming about their rights and privileges when called out.
“If you want to go around making people uncomfortable, you’ve got the problem, not the rest of us.”
Erickson continues to be employed as a regular contributor on Fox News, despite a string of deeply concerning comments.
