CT Candidate’s ‘Happy Straight Month’ Social Media Comments Create Flap

CONNECTICUT — A Republican candidate for state representative is getting criticized on both sides of the political aisle for a recent social media post proclaiming “Happy Straight Month.”

Jadon MacCormack is seeking to represent the 50th district, which includes Ashford, Brooklyn, Eastford, Hampton, Mansfield, Pomfret, and Woodstock.

Democrat Patrick Boyd currently holds the seat.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday MacCormack wrote, “Happy Straight Month.”

Gov. Ned Lamont had issued an announcement on Monday, indicating he had signed a proclamation designating June as LGBTQ Pride Month.

MacCormack’s Tuesday post stated:

“Happy Straight Month! It’s American to be Anti-Pride Month, this is America’s 250th Anniversary! In unfortunate recent history, Pride Month recognition began with Bill Clinton in 1999!

Take a stand like George Washington. In 1778, during the Revolutionary War, while serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Washington approved the court-martial and dismissal of Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin. Enslin was charged with “attempting to commit sodomy.”

As your State Representative, I, Jadon MacCormack, would stand firmly against the Transgender and LGBT movement that has for too long corrupted our families, undermined parental authority, and eroded the foundational values of our society. This ideology promotes confusion over clarity, prioritizes feelings over biological reality, and seeks to redefine the natural order of marriage, family, and human identity in ways that directly contradict God-given rights and common sense.

I will fight relentlessly in the state legislature to protect our children from premature medical interventions, indoctrination in schools, and the normalization of perverse ideologies that threaten the innocence of the next generation.”

Lamont, a Democrat, on Wednesday criticized the candidate’s comments.

"The hateful comments made repeatedly by this Republican candidate for public office are unacceptable and completely out of step with Connecticut values,” Lamont wrote on social media. “Connecticut is a state that welcomes people, respects differences, and believes everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Hate and discrimination have no home here, and I will continue to stand with the LGBTQ+ community to ensure our state remains a place where everyone feels safe, welcome, and respected."

Boyd posted on Facebook that he is encouraged by bipartisan voices who have “stepped up to call out this immature and reckless behavior.”

“One of the greatest freedoms we celebrate in the United States is the right to live your life exactly the way you want,” Boyd said. “But when a candidate crosses the line of basic human decency by judging others and plastering irrational, hateful posts about our neighbors, friends, and family across social media, it threatens the very fabric of our community.”

The Connecticut Republican Party also criticized MacCormack’s statements, and it called on him to drop out of the race.

The GOP issued a statement Wednesday saying it “strongly condemns any rhetoric, explicit or implicit, that can be interpreted as encouraging hostility, intimidation, or violence toward any individual or group.”

It said candidates have a responsibility to promote civil, respectful debate.

“The recent statements made by Republican State Representative candidate Jadon MacCormack fall far short of that standard,” the statement said. “By invoking historical punishments for individuals based on their sexual conduct and coupling those references with language portraying entire groups of people as threats to society, Mr. MacCormack crossed a line that should never be crossed by anyone seeking public office. Whether intended or not, such rhetoric can be interpreted as validating hostility toward members of the LGBTQ community and contributes to an atmosphere of division and fear.”

According to the GOP statement, MacCormack’s opinions are not representative of the Connecticut Republican Party, and it called on him to “immediately withdraw his candidacy and step aside.”

Republican State Sen. Jeff Gordon posted on Facebook calling the candidate’s remarks “reprehensible.”

“I condemn these comments in the strongest terms,” Gordon said. “I’ve been consistent in calling out hate speech in the Quiet Corner, in all its forms, from all people, regardless of their political views, and this is no exception.”

The Connecticut Republican State Central Committee also said it strongly encourages MacCormack to withdraw his candidacy.

“We are disappointed by and strongly condemn the recent social media activity of 50th District State Representative candidate Jadon MacCormack,” the committee said in an emailed statement. “Candidates for public office have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects respect for others and an understanding of the office they seek. Public officials should raise the level of public discourse, not contribute to its decline.”

In response to the criticism, MacCormack wrote on Facebook, “I will not back down on my word!”

His post is garnering hundreds of comments on Facebook, ranging from people critical of the post to people expressing support for his position.