U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is catching shit from both sides after he criticized Uganda’s extreme new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in a tweet.
That law calls for life in prison for those found guilty of having gay sex. It also demands a death sentence for”aggravated homosexuality,” something defined as having same-sex relations with a child or disabled person.
Retweeting a New York Times article on Monday, Cruz called the law “horrific & wrong.” Understandable, because, well, it is.
“Any law criminalizing homosexuality or imposing the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ is grotesque & an abomination,” Cruz said. “ALL civilized nations should join together in condemning this human rights abuse.”
Plenty of politicians around the world issued similar condemnations of the law, but none appeared to turn into a shit show as quickly as that of Texas’ junior senator.
After all this is the same Ted Cruz who:
- Last summer said the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which legalized same-sex marriage, was “clearly wrong” and should be reconsidered.
- Voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in November.
- Last month announced he’d launched an investigation of Bud Light for forming a social media partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In other words, Cruz is far from an LGBTQ+ ally. And some denizens of the Twitterverse are smart enough to sniff out hypocrisy.
“Um…how’s the Texas GOP treating trans people this legislative session?” one user responded.
Another urged Cruz to next “call out @GovRonDeSantis for his law where teachers can’t even say gay in the schools.”
Yet another took Cruz to task for his efforts to pander to anti-LGBTQ+ voters. “Your base wants to eradicate the transgender community,” that user said, “before commenting about other countries, how about start educating your supporters first.”
Meanwhile, Cruz’s Twitter followers on the other side of the spectrum wasted no time in living up to that stereotype. Several blasted Cruz’s disapproval of the law as the birth of a “woke” version of the senator, employing a word currently at the top of the insult pile for the Fox News crowd.
Another lambasted Cruz for shifting his focus away from domestic issues — like getting the rioters who sacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 out of prison. “Ted, seems to me your focus should be here at home working to get the unjustly punished J6 prisoners out of jail. I’m disappointed in you,” the person wrote.
Better luck reading the room next time, Ted.
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This article appears in May 17-30, 2023.
