Trailblazing gay Democrat threatened with ‘public execution’ by ‘homophobic, antisemitic’ trolls over LGBT+ rights bill
Democratic state senator Scott Wiener
Democratic lawmaker Scott Wiener has been threatened with “public execution” by far-right conspiracy theorists after trying to fix a disparity in California’s sexual offence laws.
One of California’s most prominent LGBT+ officials, the state senator has faced a torrent of threats after putting forward a bill to fix a loophole that leads to discrimination against LGBT+ teens.
Under current state law it is a crime to have sex with someone under the age of 18, but judges have a discretionary power to keep teenagers off the sex offenders’ register for having sex with people of a similar age, such as a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old.
However, the powers only apply to “penile-vaginal intercourse”, which means that LGBT+ teens are liable to be added to the sex offenders’ registry for having consensual sex, where straight teens are not.
Wiener’s bill to fix the issue has led to him being smeared a a “paedophile” by followers of QAnon – the far-reaching but unfounded conspiracy theory that, among other things, claims Donald Trump is at war with an elite, international ring of Satan-worshipping child sex traffickers.
Scott Wiener has faced ‘violent, homophobic, antisemitic attacks’ from far-right QAnon trolls
An online pile-on against Wiener, which disturbingly mirrors far-right smear tactics against other gay politicians worldwide, has led to a stream of death threats and harassment towards the lawmaker from trolls
One message received by Wiener reads: “You’re dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. I’ll publicly execute you. I’m gonna embarrass you. Paedophile.” Another threatens: “I’ll come cut your head off and deliver it to your mom if you even considering introducing your ‘bill’. Got it?”
Scott Wiener
In a Facebook post, Wiener wrote: “This week, I’ve been the target of violent, homophobic, antisemitic attacks from the QAnon/anti-vax right, including death threats.
“This is happening because I’m authoring SB 145, legislation to end discrimination against LGBTQ youth on the sex offender registry.
“Currently LGBTQ young people are forced onto the sex offender registry in situations where straight youth are not. This discrimination is a relic of times when gay sex was illegal. The bill is supported by major LGBTQ, civil rights, and law enforcement groups.”
State senator hits out as ‘scary’ trolls who have leaked his private information online
Wiener wrote: “I have thick skin — politics has a way of giving you that — but this has been scary, particularly with the assassination of a federal judge’s son last week.
“There is so much misinformation about SB 145 — similar to misinformation about COVID, vaccines, masks, and the like — and it’s hard to track where it starts. Those who think homophobia and antisemitism are over are not paying attention.”
The state senator is now afraid for his safety after his personal information was posted online.
He tweeted: “It’s been a dark week and today I found out that my personal information has been doxxed online by a prominent QAnon follower.
“Thank you so much to everyone for the videos of support. It means so much to me, and it’s an honour to serve this community.”
