At a pro-police rally over the weekend in Vermont, a woman became unhinged when confronted by a group of Black Lives Matter counter-protesters at the Montpelier event. “Black lives don’t matter at all to me! White lives matter!” she screamed at the camera. “You’ve had everything, free f*cking everything. Blacks have been coddled for years. Free college, free everything!” “Free everything and it’s still not enough and never will be!” she added. One of the Black Lives Matter protesters asked, “So you’re saying you’re a white supremacist? That’s what I’m hearing.” “Black lives don’t f*cking matter to me,” was the white woman’s reply. So much for the ‘All Lives Matter’ argument. For the record, Black Americans don’t get ‘free college.’ And you might want to ask George Floyd about being ‘coddled.’ Oh, right…we can’t. He’s dead.
Racist woman in Vermont says “Black lives don’t matter at all to me, white lives matter” pic.twitter.com/0IKULuRtfq
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) July 26, 2020
Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Vermont, Christine Hallquist
In the aftermath of Vermont candidate Christine Hallquist’s historic win in the Democratic gubernatorial race this past Tuesday, a gay conservative journalist accused Hallquist of winning due to “transgender privilege.”
Wait, what?
Speaking to Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night, Chadwick Moore said, “She can get away with many, many things simply by being transgender.”
“I mean, who knows if that’s even how she won this primary,” he added. “But while the entire country is fixated on the fact that she’s transgender, nobody knows anything about her policies.”
Professional hater Chadwick Moore sais Christine Hallquist won her primary because of “transgender privilege” and said “they” look “half dead” pic.twitter.com/1iz0K1n24N
It’s patently false to claim “nobody knows anything” about Hallquist’s policies and priorities.
As I wrote earlier this week, she spent the past several months criss-crossing the state sharing her ideas on addressing poverty, promoting renewable energy and fighting climate change, spotlighting economic development in the state’s rural areas, raising the minimum wage, working toward single-payer health care, and reworking the school funding structure, as well as empowering LGBTQ Vermonters.
Whether you consider the various “bathroom bills” being introduced in multiple states meant to keep trans people from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, or the Trump administration’s attempts to keep transgender service members from serving in the U.S. military, the idea of “transgender privilege” is laughable.
LGBTQ advocates and politicians were not down with Moore’s claim of “transgender privilege.”
On Twitter, folks began trending the hashtag #transgenderprivilege, attempting to spotlight the violence and discrimination that transgender Americans face on a daily basis.
#TransgenderPrivilege is people suddenly starting to use the wrong pronouns for you as soon as they learn you’re trans, even though they never had a problem gendering you correctly before.
Additionally, 30% said they had been fired or denied a promotion for being transgender.
And one in ten trans respondents admitted to having been physically assaulted by family members.
Does this sound like “privilege” to you?
Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston and now President of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, addressed the ludicrous idea of “transgender privilege” in a statement which read, in part:
“For two cisgender white men on Fox News to bemoan ‘transgender privilege’ in a conversation about one of the few openly trans candidates in the entire nation requires extraordinary ignorance, at best.
“Christine was the chief executive of a well-respected energy utility company for more than 12 years and traveled the entire state sharing with voters her progressive vision for Vermont.
“They claimed Vermont primary voters know nothing beyond her gender identity while in fact the opposite is true – voters chose Christine because of her experience and positions, not because of her gender identity, and it is an insult to Vermont voters to say otherwise.
“To say trans candidates have ‘privilege’ is simply these two pundits spewing nonsense and hate – there are only 13 trans people in elected office nationwide, hardly a privileged group.”
Christine Hallquist (image via Hallquist campaign)
As the 2018 midterm primary season marches on, more and more LGBTQ candidates are not only running for public office but winning their initial contests.
In last night’s primary for the Democratic nomination for governor in Vermont, transgender businesswoman Christine Hallquist made history as the first transgender candidate to win the nomination of a major political party for governor.
She will now face incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who is running for his second term. While Vermont tends to lean progressive, Hallquist still faces an uphill climb as no candidate has defeated an incumbent governor in the Green Mountain state since 1962.
Should she win this fall, she would become only the second LGBTQ person to become governor in the United States following openly bisexual Gov. Kate Brown, the incumbent governor of Oregon who’s running for reelection this year as well.
Hallquist, who came out as transgender three years ago, told The Advocate last month that her priorities include addressing poverty, promoting renewable energy and fighting climate change, spotlighting economic development in the state’s rural areas, raising the minimum wage, working toward single-payer health care, and reworking the school funding structure, as well as empowering LGBTQ Vermonters.
Hallquist’s historic win last night means, as noted by Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, that “all 4 letters in [the] LGBT acronym” are represented in Dem gubernatorial nominees this year.”
All 4 letters in LGBT acronym have won Democratic nomination to run for governor this year:
L — Lupe Valdez, lesbian candidate in Texas G — Jared Polis, gay candidate in Colorado B — Kate Brown, bisexual incumbent in Oregon T — Christine Hallquist, trans candidate in Vermont
In addition to Hallquist, the LGBT Democratic candidates who have won their primaries for governor include Oregon’s Brown; Lupe Valdez, a lesbian woman running in Texas; and Jared Polis, a gay man running in Colorado.
According to a study by the LGBTQ organization, The Victory Institute, 2018 has seen over 400 LGBTQ political candidates running for office in America.
Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of The Victory Fund, released a statement about Hallquist’s historic win, which read in part:
“Christine’s victory is a defining moment in the movement for trans equality and is especially remarkable given how few out trans elected officials there are at any level of government. Many thought it unthinkable a viable trans gubernatorial candidate like Christine would emerge so soon. Yet Vermont voters chose Christine not because of her gender identity, but because she is an open and authentic candidate with a long history of service to the state, and who speaks to the issues most important to voters.”
Tom Perez of the Democratic National Committee issued this statement:
“The DNC is proud to congratulate Christine Hallquist, Vermont’s Democratic nominee for governor and the country’s first-ever openly transgender nominee for governor, along with all of tonight’s Democratic nominees in the Green Mountain State.
“Christine’s historic victory tonight is an inspiration to LGBTQ people everywhere, and we are excited to stand behind her and the entire slate of fantastic Democratic nominees in Vermont.
“There’s no doubt that Christine and her fellow nominees will join a strong ticket this November that will fight for our values and serve as dedicated advocates for Vermont’s working families. Vermont voters know that Democrats have their backs and share their values, and they’re ready to organize to turn more seats blue this November.”
Watch Hallquist’s campaign video below. The general election takes place on November 6, 2018.
Vermont is now the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana use.
Passed and signed into law in January, the new legislation took effect July 1. Vermont is the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use through the legislature, rather than a ballot initiative.
The other eight states are Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts plus Washington, D.C.
According to a Gallup poll in October of 2017, Americans favor legalization by 64%, and for the first time, a majority of Republicans backed legalization.
But legalization doesn’t mean growing, buying and selling marijuana becomes a free-for-all. There are very clear boundaries regarding the issue.
According to the Burlington Free Press, Vermont’s new law allows adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, two mature and four immature plants.
Neither drivers or passengers are allowed to smoke in a car.
You can’t smoke in any public places like a beach, a park, or on the sidewalk. Recreational use is limited to “individual dwellings,” and if you rent you have to ask permission from your landlord to smoke or grow the plant.
And in Vermont there is no legal commercial market for marijuana, so selling is totally off-limits in the Green Mountain state.
Last week, Oklahoma became the 30th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. The ballot initiative passed in the Sooner state by a vote of 56-43%.
What are your thoughts? Should recreational marijuana use be legal across the U.S.?
Today, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed Senate Bill 132 into law, making Vermont the eighth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Washington D.C., and Cincinnati—to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of “conversion therapy.”
Senate Bill 132, which protects LGBTQ youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through practices that are linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide, was approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The law will go into effect July 1, 2016.
“We are thrilled that Vermont has joined the rapidly growing number of states leading the way to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy,” said the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Youth Policy Counsel Carolyn Reyes. “Vermont families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain. Most importantly, Vermont children can now rest easy in the knowledge that they cannot be forced or coerced to undergo dangerous and discredited treatments to try to change who they are. Today brings us one step closer to the day when all LGBTQ youth know they were born perfect.”
Said HRC President Chad Griffin: “No young person should be subjected to this extremely harmful and discredited practice, which medical professionals agree not only doesn’t work, but can also have life-threatening consequences. It is nothing short of child abuse. We thank Governor Shumlin and the Vermont State Legislature for prioritizing the well-being and safety of our nation’s youth, and remain committed to working with our partners to ensure that this quackery is banned from coast to coast.”
At a pro-police rally over the weekend in Vermont, a woman became unhinged when confronted by a group of Black Lives Matter counter-protesters at the Montpelier event. “Black lives don’t matter at all to me! White lives matter!” she screamed at the camera. “You’ve had everything, free f*cking everything. Blacks have been coddled for years. Free college, free everything!” “Free everything and it’s still not enough and never will be!” she added. One of the Black Lives Matter protesters asked, “So you’re saying you’re a white supremacist? That’s what I’m hearing.” “Black lives don’t f*cking matter to me,” was the white woman’s reply. So much for the ‘All Lives Matter’ argument. For the record, Black Americans don’t get ‘free college.’ And you might want to ask George Floyd about being ‘coddled.’ Oh, right…we can’t. He’s dead. 
