Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.) introduced a measure to ban transgender women from using the women’s bathrooms at the Capitol, just weeks after the state of Delaware elected the first openly transgender member of Congress.
The resolution, if passed, would prohibit those in Congress, officers and employees of the House of Representatives from using single-sex facilities “other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” The bill seemingly targets Representative-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who made history earlier this month when she won the state’s lone seat in the House.
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“Biological men in women’s restrooms is a complete invasion of our privacy,” Mace wrote on X, saying her resolution was “common sense” while using demeaning language about McBride.
Asked about the proposal by reporters later Monday, Mace said she wasn’t concerned about her future colleague’s opinions on the matter.
“No, Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say in this,” Mace said. “If you’re a biological man, you shouldn’t be in women’s restrooms.”
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McBride responded on X later Monday, calling the proposal a “blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.”
“Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness,” she wrote. “…We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”
“Delawareans sent me here to make the American dream more affordable and accessible and that’s what I’m focused on.”
McBride did not immediately reply to HuffPost’s request for comment on the matter.
Democrats quickly moved to defend their new colleague. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said the resolution went beyond “just bigotry.”
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“This is just plain bullying,” she said Monday, per Axios.
Mace’s actions are part of a growing wave of transphobia pushed by Republicans nationwide. The party has passed anti-trans legislation barring young trans kids from receiving health care, blocking trans athletes from participating in school sports and from using bathrooms associated with peoples’ gender identity.
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Civil rights groups have long said those efforts rely on dog whistles about trans people in an effort to further marginalize an already marginalized group of queer Americans.
“[Trans people] have become the pawn for political groups that don’t understand our communities,” Shelby Chestnut, the executive director for the Transgender Law Center, told The Associated Press this month. “It’s a very precarious time. We will get through this, but we have to step up and support each other.”