Murdering Women’s Voices is the Mission of the GOP

Women are the biggest threat to American extremists.

My deep sympathy to the friends and family of Laura Ann Carleton who was murdered for flying a rainbow flag in front of her California business. I continue to be shocked and angered by her death. Her courage and moral clarity will not be forgotten.

It should not be lost on us that while this cowardly murder was set in motion by LGBTQI+ rights, the person murdered was a politically courageous and outspoken woman.

The political silencing of women and non binary people through the threat of violence, rape, femicide is intentionally being encouraged by the Republican Party. We see this in the weaponizing of anti-abortion laws across the US, MAGA movements to legalize child marriage, strategically placed fringe voices asking if women should be allowed to vote at all. It’s all carefully orchestrated by a Republican Party intent on silencing women.

Women are a singularly powerful political force for progress. Those who support LGBTQI+ folks, the BLM movement, immigrants, religious minorities and more represent a central threat to Christian nationalist and white supremacist MAGA.

Women are LGBTQI+, women are Black, Asian, Latino, women are immigrants, women are from all faiths and from none. MAGA’s efforts to threaten women into silence is an effort to silence all populations.

The battle lines have been drawn so very clearly now. As men, especially white men, will we stand against extremism with the vast intersectional community of women or will we sit back in silence saying in effect, “It’s not a threat to me so it’s not my problem.”