Gun-toting Lauren Boebert applauded by GOP as says she wants to be called ‘congressman’ in rant against trans rights

Comments come as Senate committee holds hearing on Equality Act

(REUTERS)

Representative Lauren Boebert said she wants Democrats to call her “congressman” in a rant against the Equality Act to a town hall meeting of supporters.

In a video posted online by the Montrose Daily Press, the Colorado lawmaker said that the bill currently being debated in the Senate to update federal civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity is an attack on religious freedom.

“We all want equality, right?” Ms Boebert asked the crowd. “Must be a fantastic bill. Well, the Constitution right there in the preamble says that we are all equal, we have a 14th Amendment that says all men — and it’s okay to say men as a gender-neutral term — all men are created equal, are equal under the law.”

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Representative Boebert, with a firearm strapped to her thigh in a holster, was cheered by the crowd and continued: “You know, I’ve decided I don’t want Democrats to call me congresswoman. I want them to acknowledge that ‘man’ is a gender-neutral term, and they can call me ‘Congressman Boebert.’”

Ms Boebert continued to stoke fears about the bill of the government overreaching to replace terms such as “mom and dad”.

The video came to light as the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC held a hearing on the bill, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives.

Much of the testimony and questioning in the hearing focussed on issues relating to transgender youth participation in high school and college women’s sports, and the alleged potential for the persecution of religious organisations.

With the Senate equally divided, the bill is unlikely to pass in its current form without amendments.