A Republican lawmaker and Texas House speaker candidate has hired a self-described Christian nationalist who called for the public execution of people who take children to drag events.
“The most hated conservative college student in the state”: How a UNT student embroiled her campus in a culture war“You want to force kids to see drag shows, I want to ‘drag’ you to the town square to be publicly executed for grooming kids. We are not the same,” he wrote on Twitter on June 7, 2022, according to screenshots of his accounts that were posted by
Neidert’s hiring comes amid skyrocketing violence and hate rhetoric aimed at the LGBTQ community. Across the state and country, drag and Pride events have been increasingly targeted by far-right movements, and right-wing pundits and politicians have routinely, and falsely, depicted drag events as opportunities for children to be sexually groomed.
Others said Neidert’s comments — and failures by Republican leaders to call out anti-trans and homophobic language more broadly — will only normalize hateful rhetoric and violence that have already been spiking in recent years as some politicians, pundits and organizations increasingly target the LGTBQ community.
Meanwhile, ahead of Texas’ next legislative session that begins early next year, lawmakers have already filed dozens of bills targeting LGTBQ rights, including bills that would criminalize gender-affirming care for minors. Neidert’s job as a legislative director allows him a great degree of influence over legislation and what bills Tinderholt supports.
“We’ve seen 30 bills filed that attack the LGBTQ community in some form or fashion, and we’ve definitely seen an increase in attacks,” said Johnathan Gooch, spokesperson for Equality Texas. “And it’s extremists pushing these transphobic narratives and politicians disseminating disinformation that is driving these movements to intimidate queer people in safe spaces and entertainment venues — places where people shoudn’t feel unsafe.
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