Patricia Todd, the only openly gay lawmaker in Alabama
The One Orlando Alliance, a Florida-based LGBTI organization founded in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting, has revoked a job offer to an Alabama lawmaker.
What happened?
Alabama state representative Patricia Todd is the state’s only openly gay lawmaker. She was offered a job with the One Orlando Alliance as the group’s new executive director. However, after making a comment about the sexuality of Alabama’s governor on Twitter, the group rescinded the job offer.
On Tuesday, 15 May, Todd took to Twitter to speculate about Governor Kay Ivey’s sexuality. In the post, she said she believed Ivey was gay and urged someone to out her. Todd offered no evidence of her claims. Her Twitter account is now private.
‘After careful deliberation, the board of directors of One Orlando Alliance unanimously decided to retract the offer of employment made to Patricia Todd to serve as executive director of the organization,’ Jennifer Foster, chairwoman of the One Orlando Alliance, said in a statement.
‘The board affirms that Ms. Todd’s recent comments are not aligned with the values of One Orlando Alliance. We strongly believe that coming out is a personal choice and we do not support involuntarily outing.’
In response to the Tweet, Gov. Ivey denied the allegations, calling Todd’s statement a ‘disgusting lie.’
Aftermath
‘Weaponizing queerness through the act of outing others is a violation of the sacred rite that we as queer people undergo in our journey of self-discovery,’ said Christopher Cuevas of QLatinx, an organization associated with One Orlando.
‘It is a form of psychic and emotional violence; a violence that robs one of their ability to self-actualize and manifest their truth; a violence that hinders the fostering of fellowship and community; a violence that calls into question our ability to see the value in trusting others with our authentic self.’
‘I do know I’m impulsive,’ Todd told AL.com. ‘I might write an email and then come back to it, but unfortunately I didn’t do that this time.’
No apologies
Todd said her Tweet was a mistake, but will not apologize.
‘It always seems too fake to me,’ she said. ‘I’m going to stand up here and say “Here’s the target.” I’m going to take it.’
Earlier this year, Todd announced that she would not be seeking re-election to the Alabama House of Representatives. She had planned to move to Orlando for this job, which was meant to commence on 1 June.
