“By ignoring science…he has alienated his base that deeply care about LGBTQ rights,” stated researcher Allison Chapman.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is dealing with widespread criticism from LGBTQ advocates after suggesting that Democrats had been unsuitable to battle for transgender athletes’ potential to compete in feminine school and youth sports activities.
Newsom made the assertion within the debut episode of his podcast, That is Gavin Newsom, throughout a dialog with MAGA determine Charlie Kirk, who leads the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA. Kirk has previously called for Trump to research Newsom over California’s wildfires, and has a history of making anti-transgender statements and using anti-trans slurs. He has additionally persistently opposed gender-affirming care and trans inclusion in sports activities.
No matter right-wing propaganda about trans athletes, studies do not show that trans ladies have a categorical athletic edge. “Research shows that trans folks carry out equally to their cisgender counterparts, and obtainable info does NOT point out that trans athletes have inert athletic benefit. To place it plainly: the parable that trans ladies dominate sports activities is a fabricated lie rooted in misogyny, not science,” Gender/Justice says in a toolkit.
But, throughout his podcast, Newsom aligned himself with Kirk’s stance, saying that he “fully agree[s]” that trans ladies needs to be banned from competing in ladies’s sports activities. “I feel it’s a difficulty of equity, I fully agree with you on that. It is a matter of equity — it’s deeply unfair,” Newsom said.
“I revere sports activities, so the difficulty of equity is totally legit,” Newsom continued. “And I noticed that — the final couple years, boy did I [see] the way you guys had been capable of weaponize that problem at one other degree.” When Kirk questioned Newsom’s alternative of the time period “weaponize,” Newsom opted as a substitute for the phrase “spotlight.”
Though Newsom has lengthy been celebrated as a pro-LGBTQ politician — famously breaking state legislation years in the past to issue marriage licenses to same-sex {couples} — his observe file is spotty in the case of supporting trans folks. In 2023, he vetoed a bill that will have required courts to take into consideration a father or mother’s assertion of their little one’s gender id in custody proceedings and another that will have mandated protection of gender-affirming and abortion care by out-of-state insurance policy bought to California staff.
According to Politico, throughout the podcast, Newsom acknowledged the affect Kirk and different MAGA-aligned figures have had on his 13-year-old son; expressed skepticism relating to pronouns and the time period “Latinx”; criticized the thought of defunding the police as “lunacy”; and condemned “cancel tradition.” He additionally drew a parallel between his stance on trans athletes and conservatives’ previous opposition to same-sex marriage, emphasizing that he respects Kirk and others for holding agency of their anti-LGBTQ beliefs, at the same time as homosexual marriage has develop into legally acknowledged and broadly accepted within the U.S.
“Gavin Newsom has been ensnared within the far proper lure to push the Overton window additional and additional proper,” LGBTQ legislative researcher Allison Chapman informed Truthout in response to Newsom’s feedback. “By ignoring science as a way to appease average to proper leaning voters he has alienated his base that deeply care about LGBTQ rights.”
Though Newsom has repeatedly denied presidential ambitions, CalMatters reported in November that he seems to be laying the groundwork for a future marketing campaign. He has positioned himself as a outstanding determine in opposition to Trump, convening a particular legislative session in December to “Trump-proof” California and allocating $50 million in state funds to cowl authorized prices within the battle in opposition to the Trump administration.
“I’m positive plagiarizing Invoice Maher is the best way to win over the Democratic base,” civil rights lawyer Alejandra Caraballo not too long ago said on Bluesky. Maher, a controversial comic typically criticized for being overly contrarian, identifies as liberal however has made anti-trans comments and said that Democrats are dropping elections as a result of they help trans rights — moderately than as a result of they’re moving further and further right.
“Harris tried this similar technique by ignoring the cries of younger voters in opposition to the Palestinian genocide and misplaced,” Chapman informed Truthout. “Why is Newsom making an attempt to repeat it?”
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