Some 200 protesters gathered outside the Salem, Mass. office of moderate Massachusetts Democrat U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton on Sunday for a “Neighbors Against Hate” rally. They accused Moulton of making “transphobic” statements while explaining Democratic losses in the Nov. 5 election.
“This is a time where we need local leaders to stand with us and reaffirm their commitment to the LGBT+ community,” Salem City Councilor Kyle Davis said in an invitation to the community to participate in the protest.
Moulton argues his party has gone too far to the extreme on social issues, among them the demand that sex be treated as merely a social construct, not a biological fact; and that parents be pressed into allowing males into female sports and spaces.
Protesters gather outside the Salem office of Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) on November 17, 2024.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Moulton said. “I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete. But as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
Moulton has been under fire ever since. “I’m not looking for an apology from Seth Moulton, I’m looking for a resignation,” Davis said in response to the congressman’s comment.
According to reporting by the Daily Item, elected officials from Beverly, Lynn, Newburyport and Salem participated in the rally.
“To say that his kids can get run over by people who are previously male shows not only his ignorance about what transgender is, it shows how he is willing to make the most vulnerable people in our community more vulnerable,” said Salem Ward 5 Councilor Jeff Cohen, who serves on the board of Project OUT.
There have been multiple reports in New England of female athletes being injured — including serious injuries — during competitions against biological males who identify as female.
While progressives were protesting in Salem, left-leaning media outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times were urging Democrats to listen to Moulton’s message.
“Trans women’s participation in sports raises thorny questions about fairness — but that should not preclude Mr. Moulton from speaking his mind,” The Post editorialized. ‘The realities of human biology raise legitimate questions about any notion that trans women should always and everywhere be treated exactly like cisgender women.”
And Moulton told The Times in an interview Friday, “I’ve never had more people, parents and, by the way, a lot of L.G.B.T.Q. community members, reach out to me and say, ‘Thank you for saying this.’ Some of them are just speaking authentically as parents. Some of them believe the trans movement has gone too far. It is imperiling the progress we’ve made.”
In New Hampshire, every elected state Democrat opposed legislation protecting girls’ sports from male athletes, and a bill making it easier to keep males out of female-only bathrooms and locker rooms. That voting record was highlighted in many legislative races and is believed to have contributed to Democrats losing two additional seats in the state Senate and 25 seats in the House.
That is also part of Moulton’s message to his fellow Democrats.
“I think there’s a lot of Democrats going around, especially in (Congress), justifying how we did by saying, ‘Oh, we did a little bit better than Harris,'” Moulton told CNN. “Seriously, we lost big. And we’ve got to come to grips with that if we’re going to be willing to change.”
New Hampshire Democrats have yet to come to the same conclusion. No prominent Granite State Democrats have expressed support for Moulton or his decision to speak out.
However, state Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley is promoting the new NH Trans Caucus in the House.
In Salem, city councilor Davis told the crowd, “If anyone had questions about whether this community was going to stand by their trans neighbors … they have their answer today.”
But with polls showing the vast majority of Americans support girls-only sports and single-sex private spaces, does the Democratic Party need more Seth Moultons, or fewer?
“No one issue lost us this election, but there is exit polling that shows that cultural issues played an outsized role,” Moulton told Newsweek. “We lost, in part, because we shame and belittle too many opinions held by too many voters and that needs to stop.”
