Meet Christopher-Aaron Felker. He’s an openly gay candidate currently running for Burlington City Council in Burlington, Vermont. Exciting, right?
Actually, no. Because in addition to being a diehard conservative who has spoken out against the Equality Act, Felker has a rich history of attacking trans people on Twitter.
Related: Antigay politician takes “full responsibility” for sexual misconduct… then blames everyone else
Felker used to have a Twitter account called @UrOrwellianLife that he regularly used to disparage trans and nonbinary people. He frequently used anti-trans slurs and hashtags like #SexNotGender and #GenderCritical, promoted TERF ideology, and even referred to former gubernatorial candidate Christine Hallquist, a trans woman, as a “Trans Identified Male.”
Here’s just a small sampling of some of Felker’s 400 since-deleted tweets…
Charming, huh?
Last year, during his first unsuccessful run for Burlington City Council, Felker defended his anti-trans sentiments in an interview with the local newspaper Seven Days, explaining that his Catholic upbringing taught him “we are all created in the image of God, and none of us are born in the wrong body.”
Sure, Jan.
Related: Antigay politician says he’s really sorry for tweeting “Where the white women at?” to Black sheriff
And he told the VTDigger he wasn’t “phobic of any transgender person”, saying, “I support their right to do whatever they like and live and find happiness. But I will defend women’s rights, women’s sports.” He also suggested his animus toward the trans community was merely a difference in “opinion.”
Riiiiight.
On March 1, voters will decide whether to elect Felker in a special election for the Burlington Ward 3 City Council. The current incumbent, Joe Magee, is also openly LGBTQ, although, unlike his opponent, he doesn’t publicly loathe trans people.
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
Mister P
Please don’t use GOP. It is an old party but grand implies something big and fabulous. Republicans have grand delusions but they are not fabulous.
radiooutmike
I like GQP.
spunkfunker
I thought it was the MAGA party or the tRUMP party.
cuteguy
Wtf does a gay GOP mean? Is that the same as a Jewish Nazi?
Cam
Basically.
johncp56
I feel the same when I was told there was a gay group the log cabin rebups, i got a bit sick to my gut, and still throw up in my mouth when I see them to date,,, I at the most part hope they are gay spy,