GOP lawmakers call for Alabama space camp employee to be fired, simply for being transgender

An Alabama resident sparked a transphobic backlash against an employee at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Space Camp in Huntsville, leading to calls for the employee to be fired because she is transgender.

Last week, parent Clay Yarbrough posted on Facebook concerning a transgender employee's role at the camp. Yarbrough’s bigoted post expressed outrage over a transgender crew trainer’s role at the camp.

“I just need everyone to see this and know what’s going on at Space Camp at the US Space & Rocket Center. My daughter was planning on going to space camp next week but we have just found out that this freak is a team lead and a hall monitor in the girls dorms and at times could be allowed to be alone in the halls at night,” Yarbrough wrote.

Adding fuel to the fire, Chaya Raichik, the figure behind the controversial Libs of TikTok social media account, launched a series of tweets targeting the Space Camp employee and the camp's affiliations. On Monday, Raichik posted, “Many concerned parents are reaching out to us about an alarming situation unfolding at @SpaceCampUSA. Molly Bowman is a man pretending to be a woman who works as a team lead and hall monitor at @SpaceCampUSA for young children."

Notable outrage from GOP lawmakers followed, with Sen. Tommy Tuberville and U.S. Rep. Dale Strong expressing their concerns and using social media to voice their opinions, NBC News reports. Strong explicitly called for the employee’s removal and a comprehensive review of the Space Camp’s policies to prevent “the potential harm and damages they have inadvertently caused our children.”

The attacks are part of a pattern by Republicans and far-right extremists to falsely paint LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender individuals, as harmful to children.

Responding to the controversy, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to the safety and security of Space Camp students. The center outlined its adherence to rigorous hiring practices, including extensive background checks and behavioral guidelines for staff, aiming to maintain a secure and inclusive environment for all participants.

The Alabama Trans Rights Action Coalition issued a statement condemning the targeted vilification of the transgender employee and criticizing the rhetoric used by some parents and GOP lawmakers, Huntsville NBC affiliate WAFF reports.

“This kind of rhetoric further divides our state, has no basis in reality, and has historically led to violence. It is additional fuel poured on the flames of moral panic gripping the right wing of American political discourse, based only in fear and misunderstanding,” ALTRAC wrote.

GLSEN, a leading national organization advocating for LGBTQ+ youth in K-12 schools, has condemned any legislative attempt limiting LGBTQ+ participation as a direct attack on the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people.

In response to the escalating situation, GLSEN voiced its opposition to legislative actions that would attack the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the expansion of Alabama’s “don’t say gay or trans” bill. The bill, HB 130, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mack Butler, aims to extend existing prohibitions on discussions around sexual orientation and gender identity from the classroom to extracurricular activities, including those at Space Camp.

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, expressed their disapproval of such legislative efforts.

“The latest attempts to expand Alabama’s regressive ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ bill beyond the classroom shows that extremist legislators will stop at nothing to silence our community and push LGBTQI+ people back into the closet,” Willingham-Jaggers said in a statement. “GLSEN stands firmly against this legislative overreach that weaponizes state government to perpetuate further harassment and targeting of employees at Space Camp. When the Supreme Court has already ruled that employees are protected from workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity, the legislature should reject these shortsighted efforts to intimidate hardworking Alabamans into silence. We express our unwavering support to ALTRAC, the Alabama Transgender Rights Action Coalition, and stand in solidarity with all LGBTQI+ students and educators in Alabama.”

In Alabama, there’s a notable gap in statewide protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute, in a briefing on employment discrimination in Alabama, highlights the vulnerability of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workforce. The report estimates that in 2017, approximately 73,400 workers in Alabama’s workforce identified as LGBTQ+, yet they lack comprehensive legal safeguards against discrimination in the workplace. Despite the absence of a statewide law in Alabama protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from employment discrimination, a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 marks a significant legal precedent, affirming that queer and transgender people are shielded from discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 470 bills targeting LGBTQ+ people have been introduced by conservative lawmakers across the United States this year alone. Alabama is at the forefront of this legislative push, considering four bills that directly impact the LGBTQ+ community, including one that aims to prohibit instruction or discussions related to gender identity or sexual orientation in public K-12 schools.