Norfolk, Virginia—On the debate stage tonight, candidate for Governor Winsome Earle-Sears interrputed her opponent, Abigail Spanberger, to claim it is not discrimination to fire an employee for being gay. The law would beg to differ.

“If Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t think being fired for being gay is discrimination, what she’s really saying is that LGBTQ+ people don’t deserve the same rights as she does. That’s an appalling stance, and not one we should tolerate in a candidate for Governor,” Ashleigh Crocker, Interim Executive Director at Progress Virginia, said. “Winsome Earle-Sears is so full of hatred that she just couldn’t help herself but to interrupt with her bigotry. People in our community deserve a Governor who will stand up for all of our rights, not one who picks and chooses whose humanity counts.”

Background:

In the exchange, Abigail Spanberger said, “My opponent has previously said that she thinks it’s okay for someone to be fired from their job for being gay.”

Earle-Sears interrupted to shout, “That’s not discrimination!”

The Supreme Court settled that in 2020 in Bostock v. Clayton County—sexual orientation and gender identity are protected under Title VII.
Earlier this year, Earle-Sears went out of her way to write a handwritten note on HB174, a bill that prohibited the denial of a marriage certificate on the basis of sex, race, or gender. In the note, she said she was “morally opposed” to the bill.