MARBLEHEAD, MASS. (WHDH) - Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton pushed back Monday after fellow Democrats condemned comments he made last week about transgender athletes.
Moulton, a Democrat, gave an interview to The New York Times, sharing a reason he believes Republicans swept the election.
“I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” Moulton told the Times.
This drew widespread backlash from local Democrats, who called the comments hateful.
“Using our community as a scapegoat is not the right thing to do at this time. It’s not the reason why we lost the election. There’s plenty of other reasons why we probably lost the election, but the LGBTQ community is not one of them,” said Jeremy Comeau, co-chair of Bay State Stonewall Democrats.
Moulton said he did not use the right words, but that he stands behind what he said.
“Some of the people, like you mentioned, are just more interested in shaming fellow Democrats, shaming the majority of voters, when they simply don’t meet their ideological purity test,” Moulton said. “You know, we try to cancel people rather than actually having debates about issues that Americans care about, and this is much bigger than just trans issues.”
Moulton’s top aide resigned, and Salem’s mayor and school committee publicly denounced the comments. Kyle Davis, Salem city councilor at-large, said he wants the congressman out.
“I’m calling on a resignation. I’ve had many folks from Salem, my constituents, reaching out from the trans community, from the queer community, to express just how much pain they are in, how hurt they are, by these comments that have been made,” Davis said.
Moulton, a former U.S. Marine, responded Monday to calls that he resign at a Veterans Day event in Marblehead.
“Good luck, I mean, run against me if you want. You know? But I’m not going to ever be afraid to uphold the American values of having a discussion,” Moulton said.
Moulton also criticized his political party.
“The backlash proves my point. The Democrats have a problem even discussing difficult issues. If we become the party that doesn’t ban books like the Republicans, but just bans debate, because we’re not even allowed to speak about certain contentious issues, we are never going to win,” he said.
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