Over 300 sign letter to US Rep. Gonzalez after transgender remarks

Vicente Gonzalez (Courtesy: Congressman Vicente Gonzalez/Facebook)

Over 300 people have signed an open letter to U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville, expressing their disappointment with comments he made in a recent interview.

Gonzalez was featured in an interview with The Texas Tribune on Nov. 26 in which he was critical of the Democratic Party and its strategies — mainly its emphasis on abortion and transgender rights.

“He said the party’s fixation on abortion this cycle was ‘lazy’ and out of touch with his majority-Catholic district,” the article read. “He urged the party to, in some cases, soften its defenses of transgender rights, even if that means voting against the Democratic base.”

The article went on to quote Gonzalez who said that he does not agree with certain issues pertaining to the transgender community.

“I think we need to protect every community in America,” Gonzalez said in the article. “But there are issues that I don’t agree with, like boys and girls bathrooms, or boys competing in girls sports, and I think we should be outspoken about it. I don’t think Democrats should have to hide from a message like that.”

It was noted soon after that Gonzalez voted in support of the Equality Act in 2021, which would protect trans people from discrimination.

Following the publication of the article, 310 South Texans signed an open letter calling for Gonzalez to meet with a group of trans constituents before Jan. 20. The letter accuses Gonzalez of using “dangerous rhetoric that harms and targets” transgender individuals in the state and in his district.

“We are a group of community members and organizations that are committed to making South Texas a place where everyone can thrive and live safely— no matter our race, genders, faith, or background,” the letter read. “We are deeply disappointed with the language you used in this interview, and we are even more concerned with how this rhetoric could influence your support of policies that target trans Texans.”

The authors of the letter tell Gonzalez that trans people are an integral part of the Rio Grande Valley and should not have to live in fear.

“They deserve to live free of discrimination and under laws that affirm and celebrate who they are, not surveil, police, and criminalize them for simply being themselves,” the letter read. “And they most definitely deserve to be recognized by their representatives as people with full lives and rights, not merely a political strategy that can be discarded.”

Gonzalez’s office released a statement Friday in response to the letter in which the congressman said that he hopes to do better to meet the needs of all of his constituents.

“We as Democrats shouldn’t shy away from having thoughtful conversations that are being had at dinner tables in South Texas and throughout America,” he said. “We must do better to meet our constituents where they are, what they believe and what direction our communities are going.”

“I said this in the article, I stand by protecting every community in America. ALL Communities,” he continued. “As South Texans, we must come together and look at the bigger picture, for everyone.”

Gonzalez is set to have a discussion with the group of individuals involved with the letter via Zoom on Thursday.

Editor’s note: This story’s headline has been updated for clarity.

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