Danica Roem beat out a 13-term incumbent to win a seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates. For some Republicans, that’s still not a good enough reason to respect her.
As Virginia’s first openly transgender state legislator prepares to take office, Virginia House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox outlined just how low he’s willing to go to avoid respecting Roem.
As the likely new speaker, Cox wants to do away with the formal titles of “gentlewoman” and “gentleman” for delegates, The Washington Postreported:
Conservative lawmakers hailed the change as a way to avoid what they said could be a potentially awkward situation. But one of the longest-serving House Democrats called the decision “shameful” and said lawmakers “ought to be big enough to get over these hang-ups we have.”
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