Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement in response to the targeted attacks towards Idaho’s LGBT community:
“I am horrified and angered by the recent attacks directed toward Idaho’s LGBT community. From Pride flags being stolen in Boise’s North End, to an Idaho pastor calling for LGBT people to be executed, and 31 white nationalists traveling to our state in an effort to disrupt and instill fear at a Coeur d’Alene Pride event.
These events, and too many other examples, not only cast Idaho in a negative and hateful light, but are also wrong as a matter of basic human decency. These events present fundamental questions of morality, not politics, and as a matter of morality these hateful events must be repudiated.
Too often, in recent months, we have witnessed scenes where educators, librarians, health care workers, people of color, and the LGBT community have been subjected to unwarranted displays of hatred or intolerance. While we acknowledge that deep political divisions exist in our state and nation, disagreements must not – cannot – be allowed to lead to threats, intimidation, or worse.
Idaho leaders have a moral and ethical responsibility to speak out loudly and clearly when fellow Idahoans are targeted and threatened.
We must ensure that our Statehouse is free from divisive rhetoric and harmful legislation that emboldens these acts. Legislative attacks on trans youth – criminalizing gender-affirming care and banning the participation of transgender athletes in sports – must end. And it is well past time to add the words ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ to the Idaho Human Rights Act.
In the face of hateful rhetoric and extremism, Idaho Democrats are not intimidated, we are resolute. We will fight for the right of every Idahoan to be proud, love openly, and live authentically.”
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For more information or interview requests, contact:
Avery Roberts, Communications Director for the Idaho Democratic Party
208-305-5610 or avery@idahodems.org