GOP candidate slammed for saying the “+” in “LGBTQ+” means pedophilia

The Republican candidate for North Carolina superintendent of public instruction falsely claimed this week that the “+” in LGBTQ+ indicates support for pedophilia.

On Monday, Michele Morrow took to social media to attack her Democratic opponent, Mo Green, for having accepted the endorsement of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality North Carolina.

Related:

GOP campaign staffer freaks out after seeing a “socialist” rainbow flag in a school

She said the flag is proof that liberals want “indoctrination camps” for kids, but community members don’t see what the problem is.

“Mo Green has stated that the Parental Bill of Rights ‘Does more harm than good’ and he states he is ‘proudly endorsed’ by Equality NC, whose mission statement is to promote LGBTQ+ power,” Morrow wrote in a September 16 X post.

Stay connected to your community

Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.

Daily

Weekly

Good News

“NEWSFLASH…” she added, “the ‘+’ includes PEDOPH*L*A!! Mo Green will NOT keep our children safe!”

Of course, Morrow’s claim is categorically false. As Jazmynne Cruz, a spokesperson for Equality North Carolina, told WRAL, the “+” in the widely used acronym indicates the inclusion of people whose sexual orientation or gender identities don’t fit neatly into categories like lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer/questioning — those who are asexual, nonbinary, intersex, etc.

Cruz said that Equality North Carolina aims “to ensure that every North Carolinian sees themselves reflected in this movement for equality, working together to create a safer, more equitable world for all marginalized individuals.”

The organization, Cruz said, does not support pedophilia.

Setting aside the truly Kafkaesque fact that a mainstream news outlet even felt it had to source something like this, WRAL also pointed to fact-checking site PolitiFact, which in May 2023 debunked the false claim, proliferated online and in far-right media, that LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations were incorporating pedophilia advocacy into their work. As PolitiFact noted in a separate post debunking the false right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ “grooming” narrative, according to Zero Abuse Project, an organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and exploitation, credible research indicates that sexual abuse of children is associated with power, not sexual orientation, and most molesters identify as heterosexual.

In a statement to WRAL, Green’s campaign said that Morrow’s post proves that she is “unfit to lead out public schools.”

“Every child deserves to learn, and every staff member deserves to work, in an environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive,” Green said. “Politicians like Morrow use schools as battlegrounds for their culture wars, and it’s simply unacceptable.”

Cruz told WRAL that Equality North Carolina’s political action committee “endorses Mo Green for many reasons, including his public commitment to ensuring that all students are safe at school and have access to education that prepares them to be the driving force in their future.”

According to a recent WRAL poll, Green, a former superintendent of Guilford County Schools and administrator in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and Morrow, a former nurse-turned-homeschooling advocate whose children have never attended North Carolina public schools, are in a virtual tie in their race for state superintendent.

Since winning the Republican primary in March, Morrow has faced scrutiny for her past social media posts spreading the QAnon conspiracy theory and calling for the execution of former President Barack Obama and then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Morrow has claimed that those posts were taken out of context and that her past comments were “made in jest.”

During her 2022 bid for a seat on the Wake County Board of Education, Morrow described public schools as “socialism centers” and “indoctrination centers.” This past March, Sloan Rachmuth, a spokesperson for Morrow’s campaign, posted a photo of a Progress Pride flag, which she claimed was hanging in a Charlotte elementary school. “Yet another example of the socialist indoctrination camps @MicheleMorrowNC talks about,” Rachmuth wrote.

Don't forget to share: