Ayanna Pressley Denounces GOP for Trying to Gut LGBTQ+ Housing Funds

Ayanna Pressley Denounces GOP Cutting LGBTQ Housing Funds

Image: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The congresswoman from Massachusetts criticized the exclusion of funding that was meant to go toward an LGBTQ+ affordable housing project, slamming the decision as a blow to LGBTQ+ senior housing rights.

Christopher Wiggins

Christopher Wiggins is The Advocate’s senior national reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public policy and politics with LGBTQ+ lives, including The White House, U.S. Congress, Supreme Court, and federal agencies. He has written multiple cover story profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine, profiling figures like Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. Wiggins is committed to amplifying untold stories, especially as the second Trump administration’s policies impact LGBTQ+ (and particularly transgender) rights, and can be reached at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social; whistleblowers can securely contact him on Signal at cwdc.98.

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Christopher Wiggins

November 12 2023 10:40 AM EST

November 12 2023 1:06 PM EST

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Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley took a firm stand on the House floor last Monday against a Republican-led housing appropriations bill that omitted critical support for The Pryde, an LGBTQ+ affordable housing initiative. The project, which aims to assist LGBTQ+ seniors in the Boston area, had $825,000 in federal funding removed by the GOP majority on the House Appropriations Committee.

“I oppose this legislation for the draconian cuts and dangerous provisions included in it,” Pressley said, condemning the exclusion as a glaring oversight in a bill that she believes otherwise addresses critical funding priorities. The congresswoman accused her colleagues of hypocrisy, saying, “It would seem with my colleagues across the aisle that the word freedom is selectively applied.”

Highlighting the hardships faced by LGBTQ+ seniors, the Democrat emphasized, “It does not apply to my bodily autonomy. It is not applied to intellectual freedom for our women, African-Americans, or LGBTQ siblings when it comes to our books, and it does not apply to the freedom to love who you love.”

Ayanna Pressley Blasts GOP, Affirms Support for The Pryde LGBTQ+ Senior Housing Project in Bostonwww.youtube.com

“The Pryde... would meet a critical need in my district at a time when mortgages are skyrocketing, and one-third of LGBTQ seniors are living in poverty,” Pressley stated, shedding light on the economic struggles within her constituency.