Gov. Winsome Sears refers to transgender Senator as ‘sir’ on the floor, and all hell breaks loose

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears spoke to the legislature about “respect and dignity” after a state senator walked out of the chamber during a session.

That senator was Democrat Danica A. Roem, 39, who became the first transgender member of the House of Delegates upon being elected in 2017.

Roem’s exit came after being referred to as “sir” by Earle-Sears during an exchange about the number of votes needed to pass a new bill.

“Madame President, how many votes would it take to pass this bill with the emergency clause?” Roem is heard asking Earle-Sears who was presiding over the session in video clips posted to social media.

“That would be four-fifths, Senator,” Earle-Sears responded in the debate over House Bill 592.

When Roem tried to clarify the exact number, Earle-Sears replied, “Yes sir, that would be 32.”

The senator did not add further comment but could be seen walking out of the chamber, prompting Democrat Senator Scott Surovell to call for a recess.

According to The Progress-Index, a newspaper out of Petersburg, Va.:

After two recesses and her initial refusal to apologize, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears eventually said she was sorry, but she did not specifically say that to Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William County. Instead, she looked at each section of the chamber and said, “I apologize.”

 

“I understand Senator Roem is upset,” Earle-Sears said after a recess.

“I’m not here to upset anyone. I’m here to do the job the people of Virginia have called me to do,” she added. “That is to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I myself have at times not been afforded that same respect and dignity.

“But In this body, as long as I am president of the Senate, and by the grace of God, I will be treated with respect and dignity. And I will treat everyone else with respect and dignity,” the former Marine and first black woman to preside over the state Senate continued.

The Republican lieutenant governor reportedly asserted that there was no “intent” to offend anyone.

“It is never my intention to make anyone offended,” Earle-Sears said.

“I hope that others would consider that they would try not to offend me as well, we are all equal under the law,” she added. ” I apologize, and I would hope everyone would understand there’s no intent to offend.”

Roem, who unseated 13-term incumbent Republican Bob Marshall in 2017 and then became the first transgender senator elected to Virginia’s upper chamber, reportedly went home for the day after the incident and has not commented publicly, according to CBS News.

Social media erupted over the incident with the left coming unglued over Earle-Sears’ perceived lack of respect.

The Democrat mayor of Richmond, Levar Stoney, called the misgendering “abhorrent,” adding that “Her refusals to backtrack fail to represent true Virginia values. This must be denounced uniformly and unequivocally.”


Democrat Susanna Gibson blasted Earle-Sears for daring to “sully” the Governor’s mansion. This lack of self-awareness coming from the mother of two who ran for Virginia’s House of Delegates last year but made headlines because she reportedly “performed sex acts with her husband for a live online audience and encouraged viewers to pay them with ‘tips’ for specific requests,” according to The Washington Post.

And the meltdown continued.

But there were plenty on the other side, defending Earle-Sears and ripping leftists.

Frieda Powers

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