Out Gov. Jared Polis slams Republicans for attacking LGBTQ people with over 150 bills

In a recent appearance on CNN, out Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) lambasted Republicans for spending their time trying to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Polis called out the more than 150 anti-LGBTQ bills that state lawmakers have introduced this year as “an example of “Republican overreach on an issue that the American people have long moved past.”

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“The American people as a whole are completely accepting of who people love and how they live their lives,” he continued, “and these hard policies about saying certain youth can’t play sports and certain people aren’t allowed in certain places and micromanaging what restroom people use and mandating what they do are really frankly un-American.”

He added that these efforts will ultimately hurt the Republican Party “if they can’t espouse the full diversity of the American people.”

The conversation came about due to a clip of South Dakota’s anti-trans Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who stated during a press conference that she has no idea why so many LGBTQ people are struggling with mental health issues in her state.

Noem – who literally wrote the law banning trans kids from sports in her state – was responding to a reporter who mentioned a study that found 90% of the state’s LGBTQ community has been diagnosed with anxiety or depression. The reporter asked Noem why she thought that was.

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“I don’t know,” Noem responded. “That makes me sad, and we should figure it out.”

In response to the clip, Polis didn’t mince words.

“Look, words matter. Laws matter,” he said. “When a group of people, LGBT youth, feel targeted by the words and laws that some politicians espouse, of course it can increase anxiety, depression. Many of them are already dealing with challenging issues in their own family.”