Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has come under fire after introducing a bill that would limit funding to enforce policies about pronouns and preferred names—particularly since Cruz's legal name is actually Rafael Edward Cruz.
Cruz recently introduced the Safeguarding Honest Speech Act in the Senate, aiming to ban federal funds from enforcing policies that require federal employees to use preferred pronouns or names other than an individual’s legal name.
Though the proposal is not expected to be considered in a Democratic-controlled Senate, Cruz, accompanied by Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles asserted that compelling the use of pronouns conflicting with a person’s biological sex violates the First Amendment.
The bill proposes withholding funds for measures mandating specific pronoun usage or alternative names not corresponding to an individual's legal name.
He said the following in a joint press release:
"Forcing anyone to use pronouns that don’t accord with a person’s biological sex is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. As the Supreme Court held, ‘If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’"
"The government has no business compelling anyone to use pronouns that contradict biological reality."
Ogles himself claimed "the Biden regime" was responsible for endangering the tenets of free speech:
“Can you imagine getting reprimanded or fired from your job for not using an individual’s ‘preferred pronouns’? Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Biden regime has imposed in its latest guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services."
"The radical Left is actively coercing the speech of individuals – all in service of a delusional woke agenda. The American people shouldn’t be asked by their government to subsidize violations of the Constitution of the United States."
Preferred gender pronouns are the pronouns a person prefers be used when they are referred to, in order to indicate their gender identity.
It has become increasingly common for people to display their pronouns in the workplace or on social media profiles. Because pronouns are not indicative of a person's sexual orientation, not everyone who shares their pronouns necessarily identifies as LGBTQ+.
Straight, cisgender people often choose to share and display their pronouns to let others, especially LGBTQ+ individuals, know they are in a safe space, especially if their gender identity is often questioned or if they are regularly misgendered.
The use of gender pronouns in the workplace, for instance, helps normalize and encourage discussions about gender in such a way that transgender and non-binary individuals can feel safe and included.
Many did not let Rafael Edward Cruz's hypocrisy slip by.
Cruz was criticized last year after he made a feeble attempt at humor by mocking gender pronouns during a conservative student conference.
During a speech he gave at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida in July 2022, Cruz said his pronouns are "kiss my a**" while claiming to take a stand against "woke college campuses" he has previously accused of being havens for so-called liberal indoctrination.
Similarly, Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert was mocked after she said that her "pronoun is patriot."
Boebert also drew criticism after she made the absurd claim that Democrats are "trying to get rid of parents" in response to the House's approved rules about the language that would be used in official documents as part of an effort to use more inclusive language.
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