Nancy Mace tried to insult a trans activist. The crowd booed.
Trans/genderqueer digital rights activist Evan Greer protested anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) during Maces discussion at The Summit of the Future of the Internet, a two-day event that began Thursday. Mace who has recently become infamous for demonizing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DC), the first trans person ever elected to Congress spoke at the summit alongside Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) who said onstage that he profoundly disagreed with Maces transphobia.Greer who is director of Fight for the Future, a nonprofit that protects human rights in the digital age unfurled a progress Pride flag during the discussion and shouted at Mace, saying, This is ridiculous. It is the day after Trans Day of [Remembrance]. We have had dozens of trans people die this year because of the hate and lies you are spreading. Audience members began applauding in response. Related The GOPs obsession with Congress first trans member has a much uglier purpose The humiliation ritual Republicans put Sarah McBride through is meant to shame all trans Americans and their allies. Security guards quickly escorted Greer out of the conference room as she asked, Are we building an Internet with free speech and safety for all people? Or just the privileged few? Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In response, Mace misgendered Greer, saying, God loves him, I love him, but his penis isnt gonna be in my bathroom. The crowd booed Maces response.The discussion, entitled At a Digital Crossroads: Bipartisan Tech Solutions to Unite a Nation, was ostensibly to explore how policymakers and citizens can come together to create a better online experience for all Americans, according to the website of the summits organizers, Project Freedom. In a statement to LGBTQ Nation, Greer said, I spoke up not just because Rep. Maces rhetoric is vile and dangerous, but also to prompt a conversation with the tech policy community. Are we going to cozy up to bigots and authoritarians just because they claim to also be against Big Tech?As a seasoned tech justice advocate, I am familiar with how things work in DC, she said. Ive often worked across the aisle with lawmakers and organizations that I profoundly disagree with when we have shared goals around protecting privacy and free expression. But Rep. Mace has no significant background on these issues. She has nothing meaningful or substantive to add to the conversation. It seems that she was invited to the Project Liberty conference for the sole purpose of throwing a bone to far-right extremists.We are at a crossroads where technology will either be a force for justice, liberation and resistance to authoritarianism, or it will be a tool for the automation of tyranny, exploitation and greed, Greer added. I know which side Im on. Im asking other tech advocates to figure out where they stand. Greer noted that her organization is advocating for strong privacy legislation and privacy-enhancing technologies like end-to-end encryption, and opposing surveillance tech like facial recognition and legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and the EARN IT Act, which could lead to online censorship of LGBTQ+ content. These efforts, Greer said, will be essential for keeping queer and trans people safe during Trumps hostile administration.LGBTQ Nation contacted Project Liberty to ask why the organization invited Mace to its summit and if it had any response to Greers protest. This article will be updated if the organization responds.Mace has spent the week demonizing Rep.-elect McBride. Mace has misgendered and deadnamed McBride; claimed that McBride, trans people, and their allies are a threat to the safety of women and girls; repeatedly discussed McBrides genitals on national television; and called her mentally ill.Mace also persuaded House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to introduce a rule banning all trans people from using restrooms in the Capitol that match their gender identity. Numerous LGBTQ+-allied Congress people have criticized Maces vile and disgusting rhetoric. McBride has called Maces attacks a distraction but said she will abide by Johnsons bathroom rule, even though she personally disagrees with it.After Greer was escorted from the room, Khanna said, Rep. Mace, on the issue of transgender rights, we just have a profound disagreement. I think Rep. McBride deserves dignity.Mace responded, Im not going to allow you or any other man to erase women, period. Youre not going to erase me or my rights. At all.Khanna continued, We have worked together on a lot of legislation but on that, we have a very profound disagreement. While he was speaking, Mace said, And youre wrong. Youre on the wrong side of history on that. She then said its not okay for men to watch her undress in a changing room or bathroom.As Mace continued, the conversations moderator, Charlamagne Tha God co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club said, Hey, we came here to talk about tech. The audience applauded his remark.Khanna then mentioned that he went on the broadcast of right-wing broadcaster Megyn Kelly to talk about trans rights. The audience began to groan as Mace said, Youre anti-women. The audience began to shout, Move on!As the moderator tried to steer the conversation back to tech, Khanna said, That just shows that the divisions in this country arent just caused by tech, theyre caused by a fundamental difference in values.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.