A former Democratic lawmaker turned Trump-endorsed Republican congressional candidate has come out swinging against LGBTQ rights.
Vernon Jones, 61, served in the Georgia State House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 and from 2017 to 2021.
He switched sides to the Republican party shortly before leaving office on January 11, 2021, and announced last year he was running to become Georgia’s governor in 2022. Earlier this year, he dropped his aim of becoming Governor and announced he was running for a US House seat in Georgia’s 10th district.
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On the Steve Bannon War Room podcast on Thursday, Jones dismissed comparisons between LGBTQ rights and civil rights.
“Civil rights for Blacks, and gay rights for gays, are two different things,” said Jones.
Bannon replied, “But they say it’s the same thing.”
“But it’s not the same thing,” Jones interrupted. “I don’t know what you are unless you tell me what you are, if you’re gay. But when I walk in that room, you can tell that I’m Black. I’m Black from cradle to grave, let’s not get that confused.”
“They can actually change,” he continued. “You can go from being straight, to being gay, to being transgender and all these other genders,” he said. “But when you Black, I don’t have a choice.
“When did gays come over in ships?” he added.
Trump-endorsed congressional candidate Vernon Jones says, “civil rights for blacks and gay rights for gays are two different things,” because gays can choose to be straight if they want to. “When did gays come over here in ships?” pic.twitter.com/B0fye9gG1m
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) April 8, 2022
On Twitter, Jones doubled down on his argument. Retweeting a story about his comments, Jones said, “The Rainbow Mafia is fighting for the rights of drag queens to read to children. Martin Luther King Jr. fought to end segregation. NEVER confuse the two. I said what I said.”
The Rainbow Mafia is fighting for the rights of drag queens to read to children. Martin Luther King Jr. fought to end segregation.
NEVER confuse the two. I said what I said. https://t.co/RloWSx52YZ
— Vernon Jones For Congress (@VernonForGA) April 9, 2022
Jones has previously said that if elected to Congress, he would introduce articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for “betrayal of public trust.” He also said he would cast a vote for Donald Trump to become Speaker.
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In February, he said some people called him “the Black Donald Trump.”
Jones has been endorsed by Donald Trump in his bid to become a congressman for Georgia.
Donald Trump is such a “racist” that he’s supporting the black man that the liberal media can’t stand, Establishment Republicans love to hate, and the Left can’t stop.
I wonder how that works. pic.twitter.com/QrFcC4qXgC
— Vernon Jones For Congress (@VernonForGA) February 9, 2022
At the moment, Jones is up against around ten other Republicans in his district. The primary takes place on May 24.
Kangol2
Of course this anti-gay creep, with a terrible personal history, received Don the Con’s endorsement! Will MAGAYs find a way to defend this Don the Con-endorsed monster? Probably not, since he’s Black!
ryepie2222
This man is an idiot
Polaro
Black and gay are different things. True. So what? No, we can’t change. Trust us, most of us have tried. The real human point he misses is that gay people come in all races and colors, even black.
The one thing you can change is your religion…so perhaps we should remove protections for religion based on this flawed logic.
Stupid comes in all colors.
Chrisk
Yes I’m sure if MLK was still alive today he’d totally be a Maga supporter.
You uncle tom hypocritical POS. His friends will turn on him the moment he’s no use to them. I’ve never seen one yet where racism wasn’t their core value.
Hating the same people doesn’t make you their friend dumbass.
My2CentsWorth
Why to you think that MLK would be a Trump support? His approach to Make America Great [ for first time and not again] would be to end the injustices and etc..
I have not been paying that much attention to Drag Queens but I doubt that anyone of them who has a list of goals are pushing “The Rainbow Mafia” to make it possible for drag queens to read to children. And if such a group existed the members would not have that as a demand. But to not too intelligent and not too decent people this would seem to be an real goal of a sinister group like the Rainbow Mafia.
Josh in OR
Queer folx don’t deserve civil rights because we ‘can change’.
Does that mean that black people who sell out their people in favor of money and power and parroting what white men tell them don’t deserve civil rights since they gave up their blackness in favor of being white lite?
jt1990
“But when you black, I don’t have a choice.”
The late Michael Jackson disagrees.
This DL fool ain’t fooling no one. Jones switched over to the winning side upon realizing support for the Republican Party was overwhelming. Nice try Uncle Tom!
Donston
I don’t recall many people arguing that black and queer civil rights are “the same thing”. And who still gives a shit about something being a “choice” or not? All the aspects of queerness could be a choice and all people could experience gender/sexual fluidity, and it still wouldn’t justify hate. Also, his blackness is not threatened by anyone’s queerness. There are several constant patterns with Republican politicians: they don’t believe in nuanced conversation, they try to connect things that don’t connect, and they turn everything into being about them and their ego. So, at least he fits right in.
Ultimately, like most politicians in general, he doesn’t actually have many real moral and political convictions. It’s all an ego and power game. And he doesn’t care about anyone’s blackness or queerness. So, arguing against him ends up serving no purpose.
inbama
This takes me back 46 years to Arthur Laurents’s 1974 play, “The Enclave,” which involved a black man confronting a white gay man with much the same nonsense.
wiggie
Black gay man organized both Marches on Washington for civil rights. The man who spearheaded the first march actually recommended him to Dr. King.
Den
Trumpist Republicans don’t know and don’t want to know actual history. They look at it as just a series of myths and opinions. The same way they look at science.
For them reality is an ever changing parade of “alternative facts”…whatever they are told is real in any given week. Both past and present are endlessly mutable in the far right mind.
CNY1983
if they really want this fight against gay, they should prepare themselves to be confronted in public at every turn until people are sick of hearing about it. hang it around their necks 24/7 and make it their obsession. bring it on, trust me you’ll be sorry.
My2CentsWorth
How can one answer such a question?? “When did gays come over here in ships?” It is obvious that the people who came over from Europe and those brought over included people who were LGBTQ.
This guy is no better than the LT. Gov. of North Carolina. Yes, he changed because he realized that he was in place where not being a Republican [and now not being a pro-Trump] is not the way to get elected. He will never fully be accepted because some of the folks he is trying to appeal to will always apply the bad “N….”word to him. The best he can really hope from them is “He’s a good ‘N….'” or something similar.
LegionKeign
Bayard Rustin