Virginia’s first transgender delegate Danica Roem countered the virulently anti-LGBTQ Westboro Baptist Church’s threats to protest her presence at the General Assembly with #WestboroBackfire, a call via Twitter to donate to her reelection campaign. In less than a week she’s raised more than $26,000, Roem tweeted earlier this week.
Roem’s call to action was in response to the Westboro Baptist Church’s press release in late February announcing it intended to protest Roem at the Virginia State Capitol and near Virginia Commonwealth University campus on March 11, according to the Washington Blade.
In the release, the group called her a “proud abominable transgender rebel."
Responding to the Westboro Baptist Church, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate group, Roem appeared unfazed on Twitter.
“Meh,” was her response to the group’s threats before turning their hate into an opportunity to fundraise. Her fundraising page reads, "Fight back against hate speech."
My response to “WBC hurls slurs at @pwcdanica.” — and please use this quote in its entirety as I put the amount of thought the situation warrants into it:
“Meh.”
Roem went on to add:
“Oh, and donate money to my re-election campaign. They’ll hate that.”https://t.co/f9xM33GyA1 https://t.co/zCPwQSSuuh— Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) March 1, 2019
The Westboro Baptist Church got wind of Roem’s strategy and responded calling her a “greedy fundraiser” and “God’s enemy,” she tweeted over the weekend.
This week, Roem tweeted thanks to the more than 700 people who helped her raise more than $26,000 for her campaign. She is up for reelection this year.
We saw WBC’s hate.
And nearly 700 of you offered more than $25,000 in just four days.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This is truly special.
LGBTQ candidates: people routinely attack us because of who we are.
This is how we fight back.
And this is how we win.#WestboroBackfire pic.twitter.com/0azaC9REGG— Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) March 5, 2019
Among its many actions hate-fueled actions, the Westboro Baptist Church has famously protested at the funerals of fallen soldiers and shooting victims and at Matthew Shepard's funeral.
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