Mariah Cain, Staff Writer
Republican Lieutenant Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears reportedly misgendered Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, on Monday on the Virginia Senate floor. Earle-Sears is accused of referring to Roem, a transgender woman, as “sir” when responding to a question from the senator. Roem immediately left the chamber and a recess was called after Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, requested it. Roem became the first openly transgender person in history to serve in the state legislature in 2018.
After two recesses, Earle-Sears stated, “I am not here to upset anyone. I am here to do the job that the people of Virginia have called me to do and that is to treat everyone with respect and dignity. I myself, have at times, not been afforded that same respect and dignity but in this body and as long as I am president of the Senate and by the grace of God, I will be treated with respect and dignity and I will treat everyone else with respect and dignity.”
“We are all equal under the law, and so I apologize,” Earle-Sears went on to say. “I apologize. I apologize. And I would hope, I would hope, that everyone would understand, there is no intent to offend, but that we will also give each other the ability to forgive each other.”
