Republican lawmaker joins Democrats condemning MTG for attacks on Democrat over transgender child

It’s the latest scandal involving the controversial Georgia rep

A bipartisan group of lawmakers are rallying behind representative Marie Newman, whose daughter is transgender, after controversial Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene hung an anti-trans sign outside of her office on Wednesday.

“This is sad and I’m sorry this happened,” Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, tweeted on Wednesday. “Rep. Newmans daughter is transgender, and this video and tweet represents the hate and fame driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs. This garbage must end, in order to#RestoreOurGOP.”

Others joined in support as well.

“Bravo, @RepMarieNewman,” Gerry Connolly of Virgina wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “I hung mine up for Trans Remembrance Day in 2019 and it’s stayed up since. @RepMTG should probably avoid the Rayburn building too if she doesn’t want to see another “disgusting” symbol of love and acceptance.”

The controversy began after representative Ms Taylor Greene tried on Wednesday to block the Equality Act, proposed legislation that would extend civil rights protections to LGBT+ people, citing a need “to rethink destroying #WomensRights and #WomensSports and #ReligiousFreedom” on Twitter later that day.

Ms Taylor Greene has also proposed entirely replacing the act, which would strengthen previous landmark civil rights laws to ban anti-LGBT+ discrimination in the same way sex and racial discrimination is prevented in areas like housing, finance, and education.

In response, Representative Newman put up a transgender pride flag outside her office, which is near Ms Greene’s.

“Our neighbour, @RepMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she believes prohibiting discrimination against trans Americans is “disgusting, immoral, and evil,” the Illinois congresswoman wrote on Wednesday on Twitter, along with a video of her hanging the flag with a smile. “Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door.”

The Georgia representative, who has a history of making anti-trans remarks, made her own display nearby, a sign that read, “There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE ‘Trust The Science!’”

In an impassioned floor speech earlier that day, Ms Newman talked about the experience of when her daughter came out.

“I knew from that day on my daughter would be living in a nation, where in most of its states, she could be discriminated against, and yet it was still the happiest day of my life,” she said. “As any mother would, I swore the I would fight to insure this country changes for the better.”

Some conservatives have argued the act would infringe on religious those whose faiths don’t accept LGTB+ people.