OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:07 PM – Wednesday, February 28, 2024
On Monday, during a meeting in the chamber, a transgender state senator from Virginia quickly stormed off after GOP Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears addressed the senator as “sir.”
Senator Danica Roem (D-Va.), 39, questioned Earle-Sears over House Bill 592 in relation to “emergency regulations related to prescription drug price transparency.”
Roem is the first biological man who identifies as a transgender woman elected to office in Virginia.
The senator was curious about the precise number of votes required to approve this law with the emergency provision. However, Earle-Sears addressed Roem as “sir” while responding with the number.
“Yes, sir, that would be 32,” the GOP Lt. Gov. responded.
Roem furiously walked out of the building after hearing the “sir” remark.
Earle-Sears did not immediately retract her comments. However, during another break, she made an impassioned apology.
She began by pointing out how many Democrats showed her—a Republican—no respect during her campaign for office, alluding to the fact that she understands how her seemingly accidental comment came off as disrespectful.
“I apologize, I apologize, I apologize,” Earle-Sears said during a Virginia Senate session. “And I would hope, I would hope, that everyone would understand there is no intent to offend, but that we will also give each other the ability to forgive each other.”
“I myself have at times not been afforded that same respect and dignity,” she continued.
“In this body, as long as I am president of the Senate, and by the grace of God, I will be treated with respect and dignity. And I will treat everyone else with respect and dignity,” Winsome-Sears said. “We are all equal under the law. I apologize…”
Roem did not come out with a statement regarding the mishap.
However, Montana Democrat Representative Zooey Zephyr (D-Mont.), who is also transgender, chimed in after hearing about the incident.
“If @WinsomeSears was unwilling to gender @pwcdanica correctly, she could have simply used her title: Senator Roem,” Zephyr said on Monday in a post on X (Twitter).
“The only reason you intentionally misgender a sitting legislator is because you want to show your cruelty to the world,” Zephyr claimed.
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