Virginia Dems halt hearing after Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears called trans senator 'sir'

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, February 29, 2024

Legislative activity in Virginia’s senate chamber was temporarily suspended after Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears referred to Democratic Sen. Danica Roem as “sir” when answering a question about the number of votes needed for a bill.

On Monday, the lieutenant governor was presiding over a session of the Virginia Senate when Roem asked Sears how many votes were needed to pass a bill about prescription drug prices. The bill, HB 592, passed later that day in the upper chamber.

“That would be four-fifths,” Sears said in response to Roem’s question. The lawmaker then asked her for the exact number of votes necessary. 

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“Yes, sir, that would be 32,” the lieutenant governor replied. 

Roem left the room after Sears addressed him as “sir” and missed the vote for HB 592. Sears later called on Democratic Sen. Ghazala Hashmi regarding the next bill on the docket, but Hashmi did not speak. Other Democratic senators began to leave their seats, and after Sears called Hashmi’s name several times, Sen. Scott Surovell stood to request a recess. 

Roem is a man who identifies as a woman and the first trans-identified individual elected to the state Senate. Sears is the first black woman to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, inaugurated into the position in January 2022. 

In a Wednesday statement to WRIC, Hashmi said that her side of the Senate floor felt a “great deal of consternation” after Sears “misgendered” Roem, and they wanted the situation “to be addressed immediately and directly.” Hashimi also claimed she did not know why the lieutenant governor continued calling on her. 

“I was deferring to our majority leader, Sen. Scott Surovell, and he was in the process of formally requesting that the Senate be at ease so that we could address this concern,” she said. “Because [Sears] is on the raised dias in front of us, I assume that she could see that I and many of my colleagues were visibly reacting to the language she used and that I was waiting for the majority leader to be recognized so that he could make his motion. It is not clear to me why [Earle-Sears] kept calling my name.”

In a separate statement to WRIC, Surovell said that he called for a recess to allow Sears an opportunity to “figure out what to say,” as he believed the lieutenant governor needed to apologize to Roem. 

After the body returned from recess, Sears once again called on Hashmi, who refused to speak. The Senate went to recess again, but this time, when it returned, Sears addressed what had happened with Roem. As Hashmi told WRIC, Democratic leadership spoke with Sears during the recesses and requested that she apologize to the trans-identified lawmaker. 

“I am not here to upset anyone — I am here to do the job that the people of Virginia have called me to do, and that is to treat everyone with respect and dignity,” she said before the Senate. “I, myself, at times, have not been afforded that same respect and dignity — but in this body, and as long as I am president of the Senate, and by the grace of God, I will be treated with respect and dignity and I will treat everyone else with respect and dignity.” 

The Republican lieutenant governor stated that she never intended to offend anyone, explaining that she has made similar mistakes, such as calling people by the wrong name. Sears also mentioned how, at one point, she incorrectly motioned to put “The House” into recess. 

“I apologize, I apologize, I apologize,” she said. “And I would hope that everyone would understand there is no intent to offend — but that we will also give each other the ability to forgive each other.”

Women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines responded to the incident Tuesday on X, remarking, “We live in a time where it is deemed ‘abhorrent’ to call a man sir lol.” 

“Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves,” Gaines wrote. “I stand for common sense so I stand with @WinsomeSears.” 

Pro-life advocate Abby Johnson also expressed support for Sears in a Monday X post. Johnson is the CEO of the And Then There Were None ministry, which helps former abortion facility workers like herself leave the industry and find new jobs. 

“Elected officials can’t even get things done because grown men wearing dresses demand to be called ‘ma’am’ when they’re not even women,” Johnson wrote.