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Yesterday, National Public Radio member station KCRW illustrated just how out-of-touch vulnerable Republican Ken Calvert is with his new district. Redistricting has shifted Palm Springs into Calvert’s seat for the upcoming cycle, leaving residents alarmed:
“After the once-every-decade redistricting process shook up California’s political boundaries, Palm Springs, a city known for being a LGBTQ haven, will be represented by a member of Congress who has previously voted against same-sex marriage.”
Ken Calvert has a long history of bigotry and extremism: he voted for the federal Defense of Marriage Act, sought to ban same-sex marriage in California, and supported Donald Trump in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election – going so far as to say he hoped charges would be dropped against local insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on January 6th.
Calvert’s bigoted, dangerous record has no place in Palm Springs, as both yesterday’s story from KCRW and previous stories, like last month’s article from The Press-Enterprise, which highlighted the alarm of local community leaders, can attest. Residents of Palm Springs simply do not want Ken Calvert to represent them.
“The residents of the new CA-41 deserve better than Ken Calvert’s shameful record,” said DCCC spokesperson Maddy Mundy. “Calvert has consistently voted against the LGBTQ community, while taking no issue standing behind Trump and insurrectionists. Residents of CA-41 are ready to boot Calvert out of this new district; and after a career defined by bigotry and extremism, Calvert only has himself to blame.”
Read more at KCRW: Can Trumpian lawmaker rep LGBTQ haven of Palm Springs?
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Palm Springs has had a storied LGBTQ legacy for decades. According to Middleton, the LGBTQ community has grown particularly large since the 1980s when many HIV-positive gay men moved into the region. In 2017, the city elected the nation’s first entirely LGBTQ City Council.
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Throughout his career, Calvert supported the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and he backed Proposition 8 in California, which sought to ban same-sex marriage.
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Calvert’s voting record alone can make Palm Spring residents nervous.
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“This is a man who has never voted with the LGBTQ community on any issue. At every opportunity where he has had a choice to stand up for equality, he has resisted that choice. That’s something that we understand and it will have an impact.”
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