WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to object against Republicans’ resolution attacking transgender youth. In his remarks, Murphy slammed the resolution as a hateful and divisive distraction aimed at diverting the attention of the American public away from Republicans' deeply unpopular agenda.

Murphy condemned Republicans’ fear-mongering and relentless bullying of transgender kids: “This isn't an effort to solve a problem. This whole obsession with transgender kids from the right-wing is just about picking on vulnerable kids so that adults can make themselves feel big. Bullying and harassing kids because it makes adults feel powerful. As far as I'm concerned, this whole effort is shameful. It's important to understand that resolutions like this do not stand in isolation. It is part of a massive campaign by the right to convince Americans that they should fear immigrants, that they should fear Muslims, that they should fear gay children, that they should fear transgender athletes. The world in which Republicans want us to live is a world where the biggest problems are not low wages, or expensive health care, or addiction, or loneliness, but the threats posed to us by people who are of a different race or speak a different language or are of a different sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Murphy continued, highlighting the unpopularity of the Republican party’s agenda: “[T]he Republican party's platform today is maybe the most unpopular agenda of any major political party in recent memory. Ban abortion, cut taxes for corporations and millionaires, ban books, loosen gun laws. Nobody wants any of that. So, what do you do if the things you actually want to do, if you achieve power, are super, super unpopular? You distract them with giant, gross lies like ‘immigrants are eating our pets,’ or greatly exaggerate untruths like ‘our high school sports are under assault from transgender kids.’ It is all an effort to hide the ball from the real agenda—abortion bans and millionaire tax cuts—by trying to make you believe that you should spend your entire day, that you should spend your entire life, just being afraid of people that are different from you. 

Murphy underscored the absurdity of Republicans’ fixation on transgender athletes, emphasizing the stark contrast between right-wing rhetoric and reality: “There are over six million kids competing in high school sports today. For the problem of transgender girls competing in girls’ sports to be a national crisis, what percentage of that six million would be transgender girls? 10%? Is that a crisis? 5%? 1%? It's none of those. More than 800,000 students in Florida participate in high school athletics. Before they enacted their ban, how many transgender athletes were in Florida of those 800,000 students? 100? Nope. 50? No. Over the course of eight years, in the entire state of Florida before their ban, there were 13 transgender high school athletes. 13. Those 13 girls were apparently waging a war against girls’ sports. That's a pretty small army to be waging a war. You're more likely to be killed by a falling object in this country than to have your daughter compete against a transgender girl in high school sports.”

Murphy concluded: “I think every state and every school district should decide these questions for themselves. I don't think the federal government should get involved. But as a parent personally, I celebrate those few transgender kids who often spend their entire adolescence being shamed or marginalized by the kind of small people who push resolutions like this. I celebrate the fact that they get the experience of the camaraderie and the happiness that comes with being part of a sports team. I think that’s great, and I don't think that is a threat to my kids. I don’t think that’s a threat to my community or my nation. I teach my kids to love everybody, to include everybody, to see people who are different from them—a different race, a different religion, even a different gender identity— as potential friends, not as enemies waging war against them, to be shamed or bullied. This is an absurd resolution. It’s designed to distract Americans from Republicans' real agenda. It's designed to build a culture of fear and mistrust, a culture that I and most Americans reject. And therefore, I object.”

A full transcript of Murphy’s remarks can be found below:

“Mr. President, reserving the right to object. First of all, let me offer my thanks to the Senator from Tennessee for all the work she has done with my colleague, Senator Blumenthal, to protect our kids online. I am truly grateful for what they have done together. And although she and I have not worked closely together on legislation, I hope that we'll be able to find partnerships to work together to further protections for our kids, and I mean that sincerely. She and I may not agree on a lot – and as you will hear, we do not agree on this particular resolution – but I do hope we get the chance to work together. 

“I mean that, but I also mean this: with all due respect, let's be clear about what this is, Mr. President. This isn't an effort to solve a problem. This whole obsession with transgender kids from the right-wing is just about picking on vulnerable kids so that adults can make themselves feel big. Bullying and harassing kids because it makes adults feel powerful. As far as I'm concerned, this whole effort is shameful. 

“It's important to understand that resolutions like this do not stand in isolation. It is part of a massive campaign by the right to convince Americans that they should fear immigrants, that they should fear Muslims, that they should fear gay children, that they should fear transgender athletes. The world in which Republicans want us to live is a world where the biggest problems are not low wages, or expensive health care, or addiction, or loneliness, but the threats posed to us by people who are of a different race or speak a different language or are of a different sexual orientation or gender identity. It is a massive, coordinated attempt to marginalize people who aren't white, straight, and Christian, and it exists for a reason: to distract you. 

“I have a ton of close Republican friends in this chamber who I work with a lot, but let's be honest—the Republican party's platform today is maybe the most unpopular agenda of any major political party in recent memory. Ban abortion, cut taxes for corporations and millionaires, ban books, loosen gun laws. Nobody wants any of that. So, what do you do if the things you actually want to do, if you achieve power, are super, super unpopular? You distract them with giant, gross lies like ‘immigrants are eating our pets,’ or greatly exaggerate untruths like ‘our high school sports are under assault from transgender kids.’ It is all an effort to hide the ball from the real agenda—abortion bans and millionaire tax cuts—by trying to make you believe that you should spend your entire day, that you should spend your entire life, just being afraid of people that are different from you. 

“Let me give you the facts, not the fearmongering, about high school transgender athletes, and I'd let you decide whether this situation is worthy of hundreds of bills having been introduced by Republicans all across the country; whether it's worthy of debate continuously over and over again on the Senate floor. There are over six million kids competing in high school sports today. For the problem of transgender girls competing in girls’ sports to be a national crisis, what percentage of that six million would be transgender girls? 10%? Is that a crisis? 5%? 1%? It's none of those. 

“Let's take Florida as an example. More than 800,000 students in Florida participate in high school athletics. Before they enacted their ban, how many transgender athletes were in Florida of those 800,000 students? 100? Nope. 50? No. Over the course of eight years, in the entire state of Florida before their ban, there were 13 transgender high school athletes. 13. Those 13 girls were apparently waging a war against girls’ sports. That's a pretty small army to be waging a war. You're more likely to be killed by a falling object in this country than to have your daughter compete against a transgender girl in high school sports. 

“But what if she did? I think every state and every school district should decide these questions for themselves. I don't think the federal government should get involved. But as a parent personally, I celebrate those few transgender kids who often spend their entire adolescence being shamed or marginalized by the kind of small people who push resolutions like this. I celebrate the fact that they get the experience of the camaraderie and the happiness that comes with being part of a sports team. I think that’s great, and I don't think that is a threat to my kids. I don’t think that’s a threat to my community or my nation. I teach my kids to love everybody, to include everybody, to see people who are different from them—a different race, a different religion, even a different gender identity— as potential friends, not as enemies waging war against them, to be shamed or bullied. This is an absurd resolution. It’s designed to distract Americans from Republicans' real agenda. It's designed to build a culture of fear and mistrust, a culture that I and most Americans reject. And therefore, I object.”

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