Thursday, March 7, 2024

Weasel of The Week: Bruce Blakeman

 Mr. Blakeman is the Republican County Executive who made the news recently when he signed an executive order banning women's sports teams who have transgender athletes from using gyms and other athletic facilities in Nassau County, where he is the county executive.


Photo courtesy Albany Times-Union.

What Blakeman and fellow GOPers in similar positions of authority across the country are trying to do is marginalize LGBTQ+ citizens for no other reason than the very existence of the LGTBQ+ community runs counter to the GOP's misguided agenda.

Two weeks ago, Blakeman signed an executive order encompassing more than 100 venues, including ice rinks, ballparks, tennis & basketball courts, etc., because of the belief that men transitioning into women have an unfair competitive advantage, based, they say, on scientific facts.

On March 1, NY Attorney General Letitia James sent a cease & desist letter to Blakeman, who decided on Wednesday to file suit against the state, and asking a Federal court to affirm he has the right to issue the ban. The following comes from the Times-Union:

"The order requires any teams, leagues or organizations seeking a permit from the county’s parks and recreation department to “expressly designate” whether they are for male, female or coed athletes."

Bollocks & balderdash!! As AG James pointed out in her March 1 letter, Blakeman's order is discriminatory, transphobic, and would create more problems for trans and cisgender women than Blakeman had even bothered to consider, if at all. He doesn't have a problem with trans men playing with cisgender men, so why target trans women? 

The problem is that while we do live in a more accepting, inclusive society in 2024, GOPers like Blakeman would rather push our society back, back, back, back to at least the 50's, and shove the LGBTQ back into the closet. That ain't happening. 

The bottom line is that Blakeman will lose this suit, and his ban will end up rescinded because of its discriminatory nature. That alone earns Blakeman a set of Weasel ears, certainly deserved because he, like so many other GOPers, has his head in the sand.

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