President Joe Biden tied transgender laws to racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism in a bizarre speech after signing the pro-gay marriage bill on Tuesday.
Biden was speaking before an audience on the south lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., when he made the comments.
“We need to challenge the hundreds of callous and cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who give children the care they need,” said Biden.
“We have to protect these children so they know they’re loved and we’ll stand up for them and so they can speak for themselves,” he added.
“Folks, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, they’re all connected!” he claimed.
“But the antidote to hate is love,” Biden continued. “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms. And that’s why this law matters to every single American.”
He went on to claim that the law was rooted in the “secular and sacred” promise in the Declaration of Independence that all people are created equal.
Twelve Republican crossed the aisle and joined Democrats to pass the bill misnamed the “Respect for Marriage Act.”
Critics of the law say it will imperil religious freedom and open a floodgate of lawsuits against churches, schools, and other agencies that refuse to affirm same-sex marriages.
A commentary at the Heritage Foundation outlined the dangers of the legislation for religious institutions.
While this bill does not provide any additional protections to those in same-sex unions, it does empower an ideologically motivated bureaucracy and activist regime with all the legal fodder necessary to attack people of faith. While Christians are used to the false claim that they are bigots, this bill would impact religious persons who hold to traditional marriage, including those of the Jewish or Muslim faiths, or [members] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The White House did not ease these concerns when press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was not against forcing Americans to engage in speech that they opposed politically or religiously.