A transgender-identifying state senator in Virginia had a hissy fit after Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears referred to him as “Sir.”
State Sen. “Danica” Roem, a man who identifies as a woman, stormed out of the chamber after making a parliamentary inquiry to Earle-Sears.
“Madame President, how many votes would it take to pass this bill with the emergency clause?” he asked Earle-Sears, who was presiding over the chamber.
“That would be four-fifths, senator,” Earle-Sears replied.
“And what would be the exact number for that, Madam President?”
“Yes, sir, that would be 32,” she replied.
A triggered Roem quickly relinquished his microphone and stormed out, and the chamber was forced to go into recess twice.
Earle-Sears refused to apologize but later addressed the issue when the Senate reconvened, acknowledging that she “said something that upset Sen. Roem.”
“Let it be known: I am not here to upset anyone,” Earle-Sears began. “I am here to do the job that the people of Virginia have called me to do, and that is to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I myself have, at times, not been afforded that same respect and dignity. But in this body, and as long as I am president of the Senate, and by the grace of God, I will be treated with respect and dignity. And I will treat everyone else with respect and dignity.”
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“I have called people not by their names, but by everyone else’s names,” she continued. “Indeed, I have just put the Senate at ease in the name of the House. It is never my intention to make anyone offended, and I hope that others would consider that they would try not to offend me as well. We are all equal under the law, and so I apologize. I apologize. I apologize. And I would hope — I would hope that everyone would understand, there is no intent to offend, but that we will also give each other the ability to forgive each other.”
“I have seen us conduct ourselves in ways that we would not expect of our own children, or nieces or nephews,” she concluded. “And so I would hope that we take this opportunity to be kind to each other, to be gracious to each other, to be about the people’s business. That is what I hope, and I join you in serving the people of this great Commonwealth. I join you in being a citizen of this great country. Thank you.”
Earle-Sears never specifically apologized to Roem, nor should she. Roem is a man, and calling him “Sir” was accurate. I don’t care what he identifies as or what his “personal truth” is. I care about reality, and Roem can’t force anyone to pretend he’s a woman no more than he can force anyone to pretend he’s a cat, an elf, or any sort of mythological creature. He is a human male.
Naturally, local Democrat groups were outraged.
“All Virginians deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Arlington Democrats said in a post on X/Twitter. “This type of behavior is unacceptable coming from an elected official.”
“Winsome Sears out here showing how ingrained transphobia is within the [Virginia GOP],” lamented Henrico Democrats on X. “Refusing to apologize to [Senator Roem] after misgendering her [sic[ is the height of disrespect. Do better.”
The Virginia Young Democrats also condemned Earle-Sears. “This behavior is unbecoming and beneath the office of the Lt. Governor. No one should ever misgender or malign someone based on their identity, and then refuse to apologize or admit fault,” the group said in a statement. “We stand proudly with [Senator Roem] and hope that she [sic] is given the respect she [sic] has [sic] deserves.”
Cry me a river.