Rep. Rodney Davis is very thankful for the Capitol Police. Earlier today he tweeted out some pictures he took while attending a ceremony to honor the officers who saved him and several other Republican members of Congress when a gunman opened fire on them as they were practicing for the congressional baseball game. Rep. Davis went so far as to write them a letter telling him how much he appreciated them.
One of those officers, Crystal Griner, is a lesbian. Currently, there are no legal protections in place at the federal level to prevent her from being discriminated against. Rep. Davis voted to keep it that way when he voted against the Equality Act, which would have extended the protections in the Civil Rights Act to the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s ok to be confused. It’s a weird sort of appreciation that says “I’m glad you saved my life, but I think it should be legal for your workplace, your landlord, businesses, schools, banks, and courts to discriminate against you because of who you are.” But that’s apparently what “appreciation” means in Rep. Davis’ world.
The good news is, Rep. Davis is largely irrelevant in Washington these days, and the Equality Act passed in spite of his opposition.
Photo from Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images