BOSTON — Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton on Sunday defended recent comments he made about transgender athletes, saying the criticism he’s received proves his point that Democrats struggle to have difficult discussions.
Moulton, of the Bay State’s 6th District, said last week in an interview with the New York Times that he supports the rights of transgender Americans but believes there should be limits when it comes to athletes on playing fields.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Moulton told the news outlet. “I have two girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
Even though fellow Democrats and educators in his home district of Salem immediately criticized the comment, Moulton stood by his remarks while speaking with MSNBC’s Alex Witt.
“I was just speaking authentically as a dad about one of many issues where I think we’re just out of touch with the majority of voters, and I stand by my position. Maybe I didn’t get all the words exactly right,” Moulton told Witt. “The point is that the backlash I’ve received proves my point that we can’t even have these discussions as a party.”
Moulton also said that Steve Kerrigan, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, won’t return his phone calls.
“We’ve got to be able to have these debates, but instead we have a wing of our party that shames us, that tries to cancel people who even bring up these difficult topics,” Moulton added. “They’re out of touch with voters.”
President-elect Donald Trump said during the campaign that he would roll back the Biden administration’s action seeking to protect transgender students from discrimination in schools on the first day of his new administration.
Moulton said he’s been engaging in “thoughtful debate” with LGBTQ advocates since he made the remarks.
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