Alabama Equality is calling on voters to speak out after U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, described transgender people as mentally ill and linked them to violence during a Senate floor speech Tuesday.
“Transgender people are our neighbors, family members, friends, coworkers, and fellow Alabamians,” the organization said in a statement Friday. “They deserve dignity, respect, and the same opportunity to live free from discrimination, harassment, and dehumanizing rhetoric.”
Tuberville, the Republican nominee for Alabama governor, said in the speech that he would call transgender people “gender confused.” He characterized what he called “gender confusion” as a mental illness and cited several acts of violence while arguing that transgender people pose a threat to others. His office published excerpts from the September 22 speech on its website.
“It is in the best interests of our country to bring back mental institutions as a normal part of our society instead of sweeping it under the rug,” Tuberville said. Later in the speech, he asked why Democrats were elevating people he called “mentally deranged.”
The American Psychiatric Association distinguishes transgender identity from gender dysphoria, a psychiatric diagnosis involving distress that some transgender people experience. The association says being transgender is not itself a psychiatric diagnosis or mental disorder.
Alabama Equality said Tuberville’s comments showed “a profound misunderstanding of transgender people and a troubling lack of compassion for the realities of their lives.”
The group also addressed Tuberville’s public expressions of Christian faith, invoking the biblical instruction to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Public officials should use their platforms to bring people together, not to demean or stigmatize marginalized communities,” the organization said.
Alabama Equality urged voters to contact Tuberville’s office and respectfully object to his remarks.
