Gay democrat Becca Balint moves to censure Marjorie Taylor Greene over ‘hate speech’
First-term Democrat Becca Balint made a move to force a vote on her resolution to censure Marjorie Taylor Greene. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Democratic representative Becca Balint has made a move to force a vote on her resolution to censure far-right politician Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Balint’s call comes over Greene’s hurtful comments and actions.
Balint, who is in her first term, made the move on Thursday (26 October) in response to Greene’s own move to force a vote to censure Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib on the first day of Mike Johnson’s leadership – who Baliant has accused of “trying to take away my rights as a gay American” – in reference to his opposition of same-sex marriage.
The resolution, first introduced in July, pinpoints around 40 points of grievance against Greene, including her “repeatedly fanned the flames of racism, antisemitism, LGBTQ hate speech, Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, xenophobia, and other forms of hatred”.
It also highlights her conspiracy theories being allegedly used to “shift the blame and responsibility for the mass murder”, relating to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on 11 September, 2001.
The list, which also refers to Greene’s tweets calling LGBTQ+ California State Senator a “communist groomer”, and adds she has a “ has a history of perpetuating LGBTQ hate speech, including through her use of offensive posters in the halls of congressional office buildings beginning on February 24, 2021”.
Balint spoke about the resolution against new speaker Johnson and Greene, who had earlier in the day brought up a privileged motion to force a vote to censor Tlaib over claims of “antisemitic activity” and “sympathising with terrorist organisations”.
‘It won’t stand’
She said, as reported by the Hill: “The fact that on the very first day of his leadership, he lets Marjorie Taylor Greene bring to the floor a resolution that is riddled with lies and falsehoods on my colleague — it won’t stand.
“This woman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, it seems to be her only purpose is to sic Americans after other Americans, to fend more hatred, to fan more dissension and fear-mongering.
“We have got to have a bottom here.”
Balint said of Republicans who choose not to vote for her motion: “If they can’t vote for it, they have no moral compass”.
The House will now have two legislative days to consider the measure on the House floor, with the chamber returning to vote on Wednesday.
At the time of the resolutions introduction in July Greene said she didn’t know who “this freshman Democrat it”, referencing Balint.
“They must have terrible fundraising numbers because they’re pulling some ridiculous stunt.
“Looks like four pages of slander, because I looked at the first few lines and I was like, ‘That’s not even true,’” she said.
