This is one of the most ridiculously offensive and cartoonishly ignorant stories I've ever seen. On the plus side, it has also produced one of the greatest Twitter 'community notes' fact checks of all-time. At issue is a Texas realtor leaping into a specific and currently-popular form of political activism, wherein LGBT leftists and their allies performatively assert that they are "unsafe" in various red states, due to "anti-LGBT" laws being passed. This has often taken the form of ideological organizations issuing "travel advisories" warning against vacationing in places like Florida. While there are some proposed laws in certain places that are worthy of opposition, in my view, much of this posturing deserves to be met with eyerolls and ridicule. And this one takes the cake. The article begins by profiling a gay man living in the Dallas suburbs who's decided to leave the state:
“Part of me hates the fact that I’m leaving Texas, the home I’ve always known,” Lewis said. “But part of me is also excited by the fact that I get to start a new chapter.” The lifelong Texan committed in January to begin looking for somewhere else to move...[he cites] the governor recently sign[ing] a bill into law that would ban transgender minors from receiving certain health care options to help in their transition. “I don’t feel like Texas is my home anymore,” Lewis said simply.
Let's pause here. If this man is so profoundly committed to children receiving sex-change treatments and surgeries, to the point that it's part of his identity, I suppose he has every right to leave a place that is limiting access to such "care." Perhaps Texas really isn't a great match for him, quite frankly. There are other states where such things are not only permitted, but encouraged by the government, despite various Western European nations pulling back from these practices, in light of very scarce supporting science. But this is where the piece descends into farce:
He ended up selling his home through a real estate service launched last summer by the Dallas-based broker, Bob McCranie, who sought to help LGBTQ+ people list their homes in Texas and then connect them with an agent in another state or even a different country where they’d like to go next. McCranie initially called it “Flee Texas,” but soon changed the name to reflect a broader group of people expressing interest in the service. “What we discovered was we got so much response from other states that we decided to expand and become ‘Flee Red States,'” McCranie said Tuesday. “We’ve helped 27 groups of people so far get out.” When someone goes to the website FleeRedStates.com, a message reads, “As LGBTQIA+ citizens in Red States, many of us feel at risk. Current laws are highly discriminatory against trans youth and their families. Our marriages, our families, and even our safety are at risk. If you feel the need to leave the jurisdiction of a Red State, let us help you sell your property here and connect with you an LGBTQIA+ or ally agent in a better location of your choice. We are licensed in Texas and we have affiliates in all 50 states and several countries.” People can share their contact information to create an account and start the process of connecting with a real estate expert. “We’re calling it kind of the ‘rainbow Underground Railroad,'” McCranie said. “We’re trying to get people out quietly and get them to someplace where they feel safer.”
(1) Twenty-seven whole transplants, huh? These numbers are dwarfed by the incoming migration to places like Texas and Florida, which have been the top move-in destinations in the whole country in recent years. For his part, Gov. Abbott responded to this narrative with the following quote: “Texas of course is a very welcoming state, and we want everybody to be here. So much so because the policies we promote, Texas over the past decade has been the leading state in the United States of America people choose to move to for our policies, and we will continue to advance policies that protect children, that protect women in sports but protect all Texans and their freedoms.” (2) No one's marriage is at risk, at all. (3) Yes, they're being so "quiet" about this that they're talking about it openly to the media, on the record. Very subtle and secretive. (4) The insulting, wildly hyperbolic, utterly ahistorical "Underground Railroad" comparison is truly breathtaking. And this repudiation of it made me laugh out loud:
This is a @CommunityNotes all-timer pic.twitter.com/RsjBdEqwz9
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 18, 2023
That last point raises a good question: Does Bob McCranie, a true hero in his own mind, forego his broker fees while helping these terribly oppressed victims 'escape,' or whatever. I have a very strong guess. It's also amazing to see him boast that he's helped some Americans flee the country, moving to foreign nations such as...Mexico. Is that where people supposedly fixated on physical safety really want to flock? Especially if they're LGBT, in a place where many non-straight people say they are treated as "second class citizens"? Galaxy brain stuff. I'll leave you with one of the most recent, unspeakable anti-LGBT horrors that occurred in Florida:
For context: Owen raped and killed a a 14 year old girl and then another woman in a separate incident.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) June 17, 2023
Owen's defense claimed he had gender dysphoria to try to get him out of getting executed, but state psychiatrists disagreed with the diagnosis. https://t.co/oaNkvumwg4
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