THE GATEWAY PUNDIT | Published January 19, 2025
Ah, Massachusetts. The only state to vote for George McGovern, arguably the most extreme Democratic nominee ever, in the 1972 presidential election. The state that has given us way more Kennedys than we actually need. And the state where the first woman to openly identify herself as a “nonbinary lawmaker” is taking a month off from the position to which she was elected because she got “misgendered.”
According to WBTS-TV, Worcester City Councilor Thu Nguyen claimed she needs the “hiatus” because the so-called misgendering has affected her mental health.
“We deserve a government that is welcoming, embraces and takes pride in our LGBTQ+ community. As the first nonbinary elected in Massachusetts, I have always said for me it’s not just about identity politics. Making history as the first is one thing, what you do with it is another,” Nguyen said in a statement.
“I hope by speaking up against transphobia and hate, many of you will join me in pushing for a political reimagination of a government that holistically cares and serves everyone which rightfully includes the LGBTQ+ community.”
Nguyen said “that feels like the bare minimum” in terms of a standard, singling out Mayor Joseph Petty and Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Toomey for publicly misgendering her.
She also claimed that Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson has referred to her as “it.”
And she managed to bring President-elect Donald Trump into it, because of course she did.
“It is unfortunate, as we transition under a Trump administration and exponential increase of fear experienced by the LGBTQ+ community that I, as a City Councilor At-Large of Worcester, had to file a complaint to our Executive Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion about my experience in the past 3 years of dealing with transphobia and a discriminatory and toxic council culture, being misgendered by Mayor Petty and Councilor At-Large Toomey publicly on the council floor and recently learning that District 2 Councilor Mero-Carlson has been referring to me as ‘it’ multiple times,” she alleged in the statement.
“I have formally requested for the City of Worcester’s Chief Equity Officer to open an immediate investigation and create an action plan to address this matter,” she added.
“These hateful acts are unbecoming of a legislative body whose duty is to serve our communities and to honor and enforce anti-discrimination laws. My filing of a complaint’s aim is to hold electeds accountable to moral and legal standards during a vulnerable time of crisis for the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ folks are facing more physical threats, violence and hate all over the nation,” she continued.
“It is unfortunate, as we transition under a Trump administration and exponential increase of fear experienced by the LGBTQ+ community that I, as a City Councilor At-Large of Worcester, had to file a complaint to our Executive Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion about my experience in the past 3 years of dealing with transphobia and a discriminatory and toxic council culture, being misgendered by Mayor Petty and Councilor At-Large Toomey publicly on the council floor and recently learning that District 2 Councilor Mero-Carlson has been referring to me as ‘it’ multiple times,” she alleged in the statement.
“I have formally requested for the City of Worcester’s Chief Equity Officer to open an immediate investigation and create an action plan to address this matter,” she added.
“These hateful acts are unbecoming of a legislative body whose duty is to serve our communities and to honor and enforce anti-discrimination laws. My filing of a complaint’s aim is to hold electeds accountable to moral and legal standards during a vulnerable time of crisis for the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ folks are facing more physical threats, violence and hate all over the nation,” she continued.
“The Trevor Project reported an overall volume increase of nearly 700% on Nov 6 after Trump’s election compared to the weeks prior. Many in our community are seeking to move to safer states, expressing worries for the possibility of gender affirming care and same-sex marriage being revoked and frightened to lose fundamental civil rights because of who we are,” she added. “This is all in addition to the tragic reality of having anti-trans bills pushed throughout the nation in recent years and the mass shootings and murders targeting the LGBTQ+ community.”
Ngyuen asked that “if you care about me and the LGBTQ+ community,” readers should “advocate for real systemic and structural change in leadership and send a clear message that hate has no place here in Worcester especially in the elected body.”
Both Petty and Toomey apologized for their misgendering faux pas, saying they were brief and never happened again.
In a statement on social media, Petty said that he “momentarily addressed the Councilor by an incorrect pronoun. Once brought to my attention, I quickly corrected the mistake and apologized.”
Toomey meanwhile said that “early on when the Councilor was elected, I did make an honest error in addressing the councilor and may have done so a few times, for which I apologized. There has never been any intentional or consistent misgendering.”
Mero-Carlson denied the allegations of calling Nguyen “it,” or at least recalling that it happened.
In addition, Mero-Carlson said that the disagreements stemmed from personal and political differences.
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SOURCE: www.thegatewaypundit.com
RELATED: Non-binary lawmaker takes month off work with mental health crisis after boss made simple request
Thu Nguyen, Massachusetts ‘ first openly non-binary elected politician, is taking a month off work for mental health reasons after alleging transphobia from their colleagues
DAILY MAIL ONLINE | Published January 19, 2025
Massachusetts‘ first openly non-binary elected politician has taken a month off work for the sake of their mental health after being accused of laziness and asked to return to in-person meetings.
Thu Nguyen, who uses they/them pronouns, accused some of their fellow Worcester City Council members of deliberately misgendering them and referring to them as ‘it’.
However, Nguyen’s colleagues claim that any misgendering was accidental and suggested that they had only made the transphobia claims after they were challenged over their poor attendance record and ordered to return to in-person meetings.
Nguyen demanded an immediate investigation into what they described as a ‘toxic political culture’ and called out several lawmakers by name in a statement on Instagram.
They claimed to have been misgendered by Mayor Joe Petty and Councilor At-Large Kathleen Toomey. Nguyen also alleges they were referred to as ‘it’ on multiple occasions by Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson.
‘These hateful acts are unbecoming of a legislative body whose duty is to serve our communities and to honor and enforce anti-discrimination laws,’ Nguyen wrote, announcing a ‘hiatus’.
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Mayor Joe Petty denied the claims and suggested that Nguyen had only made the allegations after he requested that they attend more meetings in person
However, Mayor Petty countered Nguyen’s claims by suggesting that they, ‘arose from the decision to mandate in-person attendance for City Council and subcommittee meetings’, the Boston Globe reports.
On Tuesday Petty asked for the Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee committee to hold a public hearing on officials attending hearings remotely.
He said Nguyen has missed half of the traffic and parking subcommittees and has failed to hold a meeting for a transportation sub committee they chair.
‘Failing to participate in these essential responsibilities is unacceptable,’ Petty said. ‘I will not apologize for holding myself and my colleagues accountable to the responsibilities entrusted to us by the people we serve.’
Nguyen hit back by stating that their low and remote attendance of sessions was due to the ‘transphobia’ they had experienced from colleagues.
‘I have always tried to treat every councilor with the dignity and respect they deserve,’ Petty added.
‘I would never knowingly say anything harmful, and I firmly believe everyone deserves the dignity of having their identity honored and respected.’
Petty said Nguyen was referring to an incident in 2022 where he accidentally misgendered them during a meeting but insisted he had apologized.
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Councillor Kathleen Toomey admitted to misgendering Nguyen, but insisted it was accidental
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Councillor Mero-Carlson said that she ‘did not recall’ making such statements and that the claims, ‘misrepresents my character, my record, and the values I have consistently upheld’
‘Once brought to my attention, I quickly corrected the mistake and apologized. I am committed to ensuring my language reflects that respect at all times,’ he said.
Councilor Toomey admitted to misgendering Nguyen, but insisted it was accidental.
‘Early on when the Councilor was elected, I did make an honest error in addressing the councilor and may have done so a few times, for which I apologized. There has never been any intentional or consistent misgendering,’ Toomey said.
Councilor Mero-Carlson said that she ‘did not recall’ making such statements and that the claims, ‘misrepresents my character, my record, and the values I have consistently upheld’.
She added that Nguyen has the ‘lowest attendance record of any City Councilor’ and accused them of attempting to weaponize their allegations for political purposes.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
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