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

SALEM, MA — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton is once again pushing back against critics of his comments about transgender athletes playing girls' sports — declaring he is "done with Democratic purity tests" — as the Beverly Human Rights Committee issued its own pledge of solidarity with the North Shore transgender community in response to Moulton's post-election statements.

Moulton penned an op-ed in the Washington Post last week doubling down that Democrats' insistence on being on what they consider to be the ideological and moral high ground when it comes to myriad cultural issues cost them the presidential election.

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

"When Democrats don't engage honestly on real issues important to Americans, we give the impression that we either don’t understand or, worse yet, simply don't care," Moulton wrote. "According to one exit poll, the No. 1 reason swing voters chose Trump was: 'Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class.'"

Moulton drew the ire of some within his party — including protests outside of his annual Veterans
Town Hall in Marblehead and a reported call from a Tufts University political science professor to have students boycott interning at his office and for his campaign — after he used a personal view that he did not want his two 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."

He said in the article that "as a Democrat, I'm supposed to be afraid to say that."

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

"In response to the recent public comments made by our U.S. House Representative Seth Moulton, we, the Beverly Human Rights Committee, issue this statement of unwavering solidarity with our transgender friends, family members, and especially transgender youth, who are particularly vulnerable during this challenging time in our nation," the BHRC said in a statement provided to Patch. "We especially want the city of Beverly to know that we unequivocally denounce any form of attack or discrimination against members of the transgender and LGBTQIA+ community.

"As we observe (the recent) week of Transgender Awareness and Transgender Day of Remembrance, we take this opportunity to send a clear, unified message: we stand in steadfast support of all transgender residents, and we remain committed to ensuring their safety, dignity, and equality within the city of Beverly."

Moulton argued that "expanding the tent" in the Democratic party includes having conversations and an understanding of cultural differences and viewpoints with those with whom there may not be agreement on all issues.

"This should have been an easy election for Democrats," Moulton wrote in the latest op-ed. "We lost the White House to a felon who has alienated many of the Republican faithful. Republicans are so dysfunctional that they couldn't even elect a speaker of the House for three weeks last year, another first in modern history.

"But the American people voted for Trump because he articulated a vision, however twisted and unconscionable, for solving their problems and addressing their fears. The good news for Democrats is that we have a proud history of raising the challenges of working Americans and helping solve them.

"We didn't do this by telling voters what to think or how to feel — but by listening when they told us."

(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.)