Republicans\u2019 demonization of transgender people reached new levels on Monday when Florida Rep. Webster Barnaby (R) compared the group to \u201cmutants\u201d during a speech at the state capital on Monday.
The congressman \u2015 who represents the city of Deltona, 30 minutes from Daytona Beach \u2015 made the comment while discussing Florida House Bill 1521, which criminalizes the use of public bathrooms for transgender people.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Barnaby called himself a \u201cproud Christian conservative Republican\u201d before likening transgender citizens to characters from the Marvel comic book saga \u201cX-Men.\u201d
Taking the mic after a number of transgender Floridians rebuked the bill, the legislator told his peers, \u201cWe have people that live among us today on planet Earth that are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet.\u201d
He went on to call transgender people \u201cdemons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world.\u201d
The bill was later approved by Florida\u2019s Commerce Committee and is now headed to a vote by the entire House. A Senate version of the bill has to be approved by the Fiscal Policy Committee before their chamber\u2019s vote.
After Barnaby\u2019s comments, Kissimmee, Florida, politician Rep. Kristen Arrington (D) stepped in to celebrate the transgender activists in the audience for their \u201cbravery.\u201d
\u201cAlso to tell that I see you, hear you, understand and love you,\u201d Arrington said. \u201cDefinitely, I\u2019m still a little bit thrown off from the last comments here and just really want to let you all know that there are many here that understand and support you.\u201d
HB1521 is one of 10 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation being considered in the Sunshine State. Florida has voted to advance bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and public drag performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n