Michigan Secretary of State candidate Ruth Johnson really wants to make it known that she is at least as homophobic and anti-LGBT as her opponents, according to the Michigan Messenger:
Republican candidate for Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has issued a statement denying support for lesbian, gays, bisexuals and transgender people and disavowing her 2002 endorsement by the statewide gay rights group Triangle PAC.
In a move meant to match the political stance of opponent Rep. Paul Scott of Genesee County, Johnson also issued a statement saying, “No I do not support allowing people to change their gender on their license as a result of surgery or lifestyle.”
Scott entered the race in February with a great deal of attention on his announcement that he would not allow transgender residents to change their gender markers on their state ID cards.
Regarding that endorsement: "Sean Kosofsky, who was director of policy at Triangle Foundation and a leader in the Triangle PAC in 2002, said he does not recall specifically why Johnson was endorsed in the August 2002 primary, but did say, 'Folks had high hopes she would be a moderate.'"
The AFA of Michigan is thrilled with Johnson's statement. Said its Michigan spokesman Gary Glenn:
“In an era of identity theft and national security concerns, we're glad that Ruth Johnson has now joined Rep. Paul Scott in expressly stating her opposition to the Secretary of State policy of allowing men to falsely identify themselves as female on their state-issued driver's license, and vice versa. The people of Michigan should at minimum be able to trust their state government to tell the truth, not enable certain individuals' psychological and emotional delusions by officially and legally identifying them as something they biologically are not. We urge all candidates for Secretary of State to let voters know where they stand on this honesty-in-government issue.”
