LGBTQ+ Protest Planned At U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton's Peabody Town Hall

PEABODY, MA — A Salem City Councilor is organizing a protest outside of U.S. Seth Moulton's community town hall in Peabody on Tuesday night in response to what he called "continued transphobic remarks from our congressman" following the November election.

First-term Councilor Kyle Davis told Patch the purpose of the protest to is display that the district does not agree with Moulton's remarks following the election in which he said he did not want his daughters getting "run over" on an athletic field by a "male or formerly male athlete" to illustrate a bigger hurdle he said the Democratic party faces in relating to what he called "everyday Americans."

• U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton Says He Backs 'Reasonable' Transgender Sports Restrictions

"Pro-trans leaders that are considering a run against Moulton should take note at the large community of LGBTQ+ people and allies that are ready to rally behind a serious challenger," Davis told Patch on Monday. "The North Shore believes in a politics of love and compassion and will not tolerate representation from those that seek to change that."

Moulton's town hall is set for 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Moulton more recently said that while he is in favor of what he called "reasonable restrictions on transgender athletes in competitive sports" he planned to vote against the Republican "Protection of Women and Girls and Sports Act" that he called "too extreme" earlier this month.

Under the Republican bill, which later in the day passed a vote on the House floor 216 to 206, schools receiving federal funds would be barred from allowing transgender women and girls who were assigned male at birth to participate in women's sports.

"This is not the sort of balanced, fairness-oriented policy I've advocated for, and I won't vote 'yes' on this bill just because it is the first option that comes to the floor," he said in a statement provided to Patch. "To be clear, I firmly believe that there should be reasonable restrictions on transgender athletes in competitive sports. This is a matter of safety and fairness for female athletes who have worked exceptionally hard to compete.

"There is no denying that there are biological differences that result from being born male. Ignoring this scientific fact and opposing any attempt at regulation is not only wrong, but it undermines what I believe should be a broader effort to enshrine core civil rights protections for
transgender Americans."

• U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton: 'I'm Not Going To Apologize'

Moulton refused to apologize for the initial remarks in November — provided in a New York Times article on why Democrats lost the White House to Donald Trump — and said the backlash he received from his comments on transgender athletes playing girls sports — including from within his hometown of Salem — was proof that segments of the Democratic party are "out of touch with everyday Americans" because of their unwillingness to have conversations that may offend people.

He cited presidential exit polls during a WGBH-FM radio interview that he said showed a $30 million Republican advertising blitz criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris for championing publicly-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners shown during NFL games in the weeks leading up to the election was effective in that "it was the No. 1 issue for the why swing voters voted for Trump."

• U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton Blasts 'Purity Tests' Amid Transgender Comment Backlash

Critics charged that statements like those of Moulton serve to further marginalize a transgender community that is already among the most vulnerable in society to hate, bias, depression, self-harm and suicide.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)