Openly Gay Black Congressman Calls Out GOP for 'Systematic Bullying' of LGBTQ+ Youth

Out Black congressman Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York called out GOP lawmakers for what he called their "systematic bullying" of LGBTQ+ youth, and "of trans youth in particular."

Speaking with UK newspaper the Independent, Torres decried what he described as the "right wing crusade against LGBTQ equality," saying that it "should be seen for what it is – as bullying, of LGBTQ youth, systematic bullying of trans youth in particular."

Torres pushed back on GOP lawmakers who have adopted the easy, but baseless, claim that LGBTQ+ people are dangerous to children. "There are Republicans who are accusing members of the LGBTQ community of mutilating children and sexualizing children, or grooming children," Torres noted. "So I would submit to you that the far right has never been more radicalized against the LGBTQ community than it is in our present moment."

In fact, Torres declared, "The modern Republican Party is channeling the demonic spirit of Anita Bryant" – the Oklahoma-born beauty queen who touted Florida orange juice but who gained national prominence in the 1970s by attacking gay people branding gays as "human garbage" and promoting the idea that non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people would somehow harm children.

Torres emphasized that the LGBTQ+ community has "no choice but to fight back and resist" the GOP's homophobic and transphobic tactics, "and if we fight back we will win, definitely."

Torres was elected in 2020 as one of two groundbreaking Black male politicians who were openly gay to win congressional seats, the other being Rep Mondaire Jones, who also represented New York; Mondaire's district was redrawn, however, and he lost his bid in 2022 to represent New York's 10th District.

But Torres remained in Congress, and watched as the House of Representatives became a vastly different legislative body after the 2022 midterms, when the GOP captured a slim majority of seats in the chamber. Outsize influence was handed to fringe-right lawmakers as part of a deal to make Kevin McCarthy the new Speaker of the House.

Since taking control, "House Republicans passed legislation that would restrict transgender girls from participating in school sports in the gender with which they identify," the Independent noted, as well as passing "a 'Parents Bill of Rights'" that further targets transgender children and proposes forcing schools to out trans kids who might not feel safe coming out at home.

Torres' work is cut out for him as he continues to battle for equality, and simple decency, for LGBTQ+ Americans. "A wise person once said, if you don't have a seat at the table, then you're probably on the menu," Torres told the newspaper.

And too many of his colleagues make a political meal out of targeting LGBTQ+ Americans. As the Independent noted, "Mr Torres sits in Congress where he regularly has to deal with members like Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) who oppose the rights of LGBT+ people and want to restrict their rights even more."

"As a gay man, I will go on the House floor and state unequivocally I'm here, I'm queer, and I'm not going anywhere," Torres declared.

With ample research drawing a link between anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies and poorer mental health outcomes for people who are LGBTQ+ – and thus directly affected by those laws – Torres is in a position to appreciate and empathize with LGBTQ+ people who feel they are under siege and suffer stress and depression. He struggled with depression himself as a younger man, the article noted.

"I was at the lowest point of my life because I found myself struggling with depression," the Independent quoted Torres as saying. "I had withdrawn from college. There were moments when I thought of taking my own life because I felt that the world around me had collapsed."

At that time, the Independent observed, laws banning marriage equality still stood in many states, and there was no federal protection for same-sex couples.

Things have changed since then, and marriage equality has been bolstered somewhat with the recent passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, the newspaper account noted. But other rights remain at risk, or simply don't exist; the Equality Act, which could correct some of those concerns, remains in limbo. The Act was refiled on June 21, but its chances may be dim. It failed most recently in 2021 when Democrats, despite holding majorities in both the House and Senate, were not able to secure enough votes to make the measure filibuster-proof.

Torres zeroed in on the filibuster as a major roadblock to progress, theorizing to the Independent that "The abolition of the filibuster is the key that will unlock LGBTQ equality in America."