Last week, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., was at the center of a Capitol Hill debate over banning transgender women from using women’s restrooms in the halls of Congress. This week, the attention has shifted to comments Mace made last year in support of LGBTQ rights.
The latest angle in the bathroom debate is mainly being covered by news outlets with a left-leaning political bias.
CNN: “Nancy Mace, now targeting transgender lawmaker, called herself ‘pro-transgender rights’ in 2023.”
Daily Beast: “Bathroom Crusader Nancy Mace Used to Boast She Was Pro-Trans.”
Rolling Stone: “Bathroom Obsessive Nancy Mace Called Herself ‘Pro-Transgender Rights’ Just Last Year.”
These articles point to several examples, including Mace’s past posts on X supporting LGBTQ rights. There’s also a CBS interview from May 2023 in which she described herself as “pro-LGBTQ.”
However, none of the cited examples include Mace stating that transgender women should be allowed to use women’s bathrooms.
She does, however, advocate for the rights of individuals to marry whomever they choose. Mace also supports those individuals changing their name or appearance to match their gender identity.
“If gay couples or biracial couples want to be as happily or miserably married as straight couples, why are we stopping them?” Mace told CBS News in May 2023. “Let them have the same freedoms. If we’re for freedom, if we’re for liberty, then we should be for gay couples and biracial couples being married to the person they love. Why would you say no to that?”
“I’m pro-transgender rights,” Mace continued. “I’m pro-LGBTQ. Just don’t go to the extreme with our kids.”
When asked to describe what it means “go to the extreme,” Mace replied, “Well, sex change surgery, the hormone blockers that sterilize our children. Now, if they want to take on a different pronoun or a different gender identity or grow their hair out or wear a dress or wear pants, those are all things I think most people would support.”
News outlets also pointed to a post on X from three years ago in which Mace wrote, “I strongly support LGBTQ rights. No one should be discriminated against. Religious liberty, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist. I’m also a constitutionalist. We have to ensure anti-discrimination laws don’t violate religious freedom.”
CNN described Mace as “shifting” her tone, noting that she had moved from “seemingly supportive and inclusive language” to a more “harshly anti-transgender” stance.
Mace responded in texts to CNN, reiterating her past support for LGBTQ rights, including her votes for same-sex marriage.
She clarified that while she has no issue with individuals dressing as they choose or using preferred pronouns, she opposes transgender women using women’s private spaces, citing concerns about protecting women and girls.
“I voted for gay marriage twice. Would do it again. Have supported pro-LGBTQ legislation. Draw the line at women being forced to undress in front of men or men using our bathrooms or any private spaces,” Mace added.
The bathroom controversy gained attention after Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender candidate elected to Congress.
Mace wants to take the issue further, introducing legislation that would ban transgender women from using any women’s facilities in all federal buildings and public schools that receive federal funding.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., issued a policy throughout the U.S. House that all restrooms and locker rooms be reserved for individuals based on their biological sex.
