Rep. Matt Gaetz R-Fla., said Tuesday he will not support The Equality Act in part because its provisions that seek to prohibit discrimination of transgender individuals could hypothetically lead to President Trump declaring himself the first female president.
“[I]f President Trump were to say, ‘I’m am now the first female president,’ who would celebrate that?” said Gaetz in a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the legislation.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, during a hearing on transgender rights, wonders what would happen if Trump were to declare himself the first female president. pic.twitter.com/uYFheZVjUN
— Alexander Nazaryan (@alexnazaryan) April 2, 2019
Gaetz said he would not support the legislation because of the possibility of people abusing the new protections in the bill.
“I strongly support the rights of transgender individuals,” Gaetz said. “But I am concerned about the potential bad actors who would exploit the provisions for their own gain.”
The bill being pushed by Democratic lawmakers would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the protections under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Some conservatives have criticized the bill for setting up legal grounds to target people based on their religious beliefs.
