Marsha Blackburn

—Without any basis, attempted to link Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown-Jackson to transgender athletes and women’s sports. During Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearing, Blackburn’s opening statement included a transphobic attack on athlete Lia Thomas for her win at an N.C.A.A. swimming championship, then declared without basis that, “educators are allowing biological males to steal opportunities from female athletes in the name of progressivism.” Neither issue has anything to do with Judge Jackson’s statements or rulings. Blackburn also echoed Sen. Josh Hawley’s QAnon-influenced attack on Judge Jackson, falsely accusing Jackson of “saying publicly it is a mistake to assume child pornography offenders are pedophiles.” The “liberals are child predators” is a frequent trope of QAnon, the racist, pro-Trump and wildly false conspiracy theory that has been deployed against many minorities including LGBTQ people in the United States and in Russia, among other places.

—Along with U.S. Senators Hawley, Braun, Daines, and Lankford, filed an amicus before the Unites States Supreme Court defending a taxpayer-funded agency’s right to discriminate against same-sex couples seeking to foster a child.

—With Congresspersons Hice and Hartzler, filed an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court in support of Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers who refused to create a floral arrangement for a client to celebrate his same-sex wedding.

—Claimed “gender specificity” would be “eliminated” if Democrats win Georgia senate runoff elections.

—Said of Supreme Court ruling granting marriage equality to same-sex couples in all fifty states: “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a disappointment. I have always supported traditional marriage.”

—Voted against LGBTQ-inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act, twice voted in favor of federal constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, voted against repeal of the military’s discriminatory “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and voted against LGBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation.

—Opposed the Violence Against Women Act specifically because it included LGBTQ provisions.

—Actively worked to remove an openly gay safe-schools chief for what she and her conservative colleagues denounced as “an integral role in promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America’s schools.”