A Florida Legislator Apologized For Calling Transgender People “Demons” And “Mutants”

A Florida Republican legislator apologized after calling transgender people “demons” and “mutants.”

According to several reports, during a legislative hearing on Webster Barnaby expressed his rage against transgender people. During Barnaby’s outburst, he was championing the Safety in Private Spaces Act, a bill that would punish people for using restrooms that don’t match their biological sex.

According to NBC, Barnaby, who is a conservative Christian, defended the Safety in Private Spaces Act, and said he was “not on the fence” about the bill.

“We have people that live among us today on planet Earth that are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet. This is the planet Earth with God-created men, male, and women, female,” Barnaby said, according to NBC.

“That’s right, I called you demons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world,” Barnaby said of transgender people, cited by NBC.

The Florida Republican later apologized.

“I would like to apologize to the trans community for referring to you as demons,” Barnaby said.

The Washington Post reported that anti-transgender laws are on the rise.

“There are bills aimed at preventing trans girls and women from playing on female sports teams, laws barring trans youth from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity and restrictions on gender-affirming medical care,” according to The Post.

The Post added: “Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive requiring child welfare agents to investigate gender-affirming medical procedures as child abuse — an order that could strip trans children away from their families. Advocates and families are challenging the directive in court and a federal judge partially blocked it. In September, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin unveiled new guidelines that would make it more difficult for trans youth to change their names and pronouns at school, and that prevents them from using school facilities and participating in youth programs that align with their gender identity.”