Democrat counters Marjorie Taylor Greene’s anti-LGBTQ+ hate with inclusive family resolution
Marjorie Taylor Greene has tried to sympathise with HIV activists despite her past HIV-phobic comments. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Democrat Robert Garcia has hit back at Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments that a lesbian stepmom is not a ‘real’ mother by introducing a resolution to ensure all kinds of a families are respected in the US.
California representative Garcia introduced the Honoring All Families resolution on Friday (12 May) in response to Greene’s remarks towards Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, who testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Weingarten is married to New York rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum who brought two daughters to the relationship, making Weingarten the children’s stepmother.
On 16 April, Georgia representative and MAGA Republican Greene said Weingarten should not have given out advice on school closures because she is “not a medical doctor, not a biological mother, and really, not a teacher either”, before going on to call her a “political activist” rather than a “mother”.
Greene is well-known for her controversial views on the LGBTQ+ community, Covid-19, gun legislation, the war in Ukraine, amongst other topics.
Garcia was quick to blast Greene’s comments as “unacceptable” and reaffirm Weingarten as a mother and praise for being a “great parent”.
Following the session, Weingarten told Yahoo News that Greene’s comments were “very homophobic” and “attempting to dehumanise” her.
In response, he has brought forth the resolution, ahead of Mother’s Day in the US, which includes those who became parents through adoption, fostering, being step parents and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
It concludes “a parent’s ability to contribute to their child’s growth and success is not defined by the circumstances by which they became a parent; and families of all backgrounds and circumstances deserve to be recognized, respected, and celebrated”.
In a press statement announcing the resolution, the Democrat said: “As an LGBTQ+ person myself, I know the positive impact chosen family and adoptive figures have on our community. With this resolution, we stand with these families and honor the incredible work they do to nurture, raise, and provide for their loved ones.
“Families come in all shapes and sizes, and they shape who we are in an immeasurable way.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments were gross, bigoted, and invalidated the thousands of loving LGBTQ+ and adoptive families across this country.”
The co-leads for the resolution are Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic ranking member Raul Ruiz, M.D., and representatives Becca Balint, Angie Craig, Maxwell Frost and Mark Pocan (WI-02).
In the press release Ruiz said he was “deeply troubled” to hear “harmful, extreme remarks disparaging LGBTQ+ and adoptive families”.
“Our nation is forged by people from all different backgrounds and circumstances coming together to build a better future for the next generation,” the California representative said, “We are at our strongest when we recognize that a parent’s contributions to their child’s growth and success are not defined by the circumstances by which they become a parent, and adoptive parents, foster parents, and stepparents are no exception.
“That is why I’m joining Congressman Garcia’s resolution that gives all of America’s families the respect and celebration they deserve.”
The resolution is endorsed by a number of major organisations including Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal, amongst others.
