Scott Wiener never backs down from a fight. And we are better for it.

It was the photo worth a thousand Tweets. Wearing a skinny black leather tie above tight black jeans, a smiling, shirtless Scott Wiener posed at San Francisco’s infamous Folsom Street Fair. 

That should have been the end of the story—another Sunday Funday in the sun—until Wiener, a popular California state senator from the Castro neighborhood, posted the image on X, eliciting howls from right-wing agitators led by the ultimate troll, Elon Musk, who just happens to own the social media site.

Going all Senatorial at Folsom pic.twitter.com/fFjagP5c96

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) September 29, 2024

Wiener was accused of everything from perversion to grooming. Musk called him an “utter scumbag.” 

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It was another slanderous, destructive thread that has become the norm on X, a cesspool of racists, antisemites, and, of course, their bedmates, homophobes. These agitators have dominated the site after Musk dismissed the content moderation team and restored dozens of white supremacist accounts, driving away pretty much everyone without an axe to grind.

But the backlash was nothing new to Wiener, whose outspokenness has won him the endearment of his constituency and the right’s undying hostility. In 2018, he became one of the first legislators to acknowledge that he was taking PrEP, the medication regimen that prevents HIV transmission. The reaction, even within some quarters of the gay community, was fierce. 

In 2022, his bill to provide refuge for trans kids and their families was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The bill protects trans young people and their families when fleeing states that criminalize parents for allowing gender-affirming care.

There is no sacred cow he won’t take on. In the past few years, he’s led the charge to address California’s acute housing shortage, which has made cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles unaffordable for millions, including queer people who gravitate toward established gay neighborhoods. The shortage has exacerbated the homeless crisis and driven the middle class out of the state, looking for more affordable climes. Wiener has authored an astonishing 76 bills that have been signed into law to streamline the building approval process and to overcome local opposition to building new housing, which holds up new construction for years.

At well over six feet, with ramrod posture, he cuts a dashing figure on his frequent outings in the Castro. He’s hardly a rabel rouser in person—thoughtful, well-spoken, almost shy.

Wiener is running for his third term in California State Senate District 11, a race he leads comfortably. Political observers believe he is gearing up to run for the Congressional seat in his district, now occupied by none other than Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to retire after her next two-year term, which might be after she becomes speaker of the House again next year.

LGBTQ Nation caught up with Wiener by phone a few weeks before the election at his Castro District home as he prepared to celebrate Rosh Hashanah at his local synagogue.  

LGBTQ Nation: There was so much commotion about your Folsom photo. Haha. But did you enjoy the afternoon?

Sen. Scott Wiener: Yeah, it was a good time. 

Most of us looked at the photo of the leather tie and thought Cool outfit. But then the attacks came, and a leather tie over a bare chest suddenly means something entirely else to the right wing, including Elon Musk, who recently moved X out of San Francisco. Suddenly you were everything from a douchebag to a groomer. Pursuing an X tread these days is like descending into hell–or at least a sewer. 

Yeah, I mean, it’s gotten horrible. I got active in the community in 1990 during a very, very tough time for the community: the mass die-off of gay men, a hostile federal government, and no civil rights protections.

It was a very dark time for our community, and things improved. And over several decades, we were mainly moving in one direction. I never thought we would go back to those days. I never thought we would go back to the time when it was considered acceptable in public discourse to slander LGBTQ people as pedophiles, to a time when it is okay to suggest that we were somehow going to abduct kids or something.

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We now have an entire political party basing its platform on the demonization of our community. Instead of acknowledging the truth, which is that some kids are gay or lesbian or trans and that they’re just going to be who they are. Instead, they demonize. They don’t even call it trying to convert kids anymore. Now, they call it grooming, and what a sad state of affairs it is.

But here we are, and we have to fight this by just leading our authentic lives. We must push back hard against this slanderous narrative.

As you say, it has seemed a slow road to equality. Suddenly the road is blocked, or we’re even going backwards. To what do you attribute that?

There’s a sickness in our body politic. It’s the same sickness that gave us Donald Trump, QAnon, and MAGA. It’s a sickness that has infused modern American politics with conspiracy theories, particularly on the right. It is threatening our democracy. Social media algorithms fuel it, and it’s very, very dangerous to LGBTQ people.

It was an optimistic time when social media first sprung up, particularly Facebook and Twitter. You know, queer kids in rural Nebraska could connect and could find safety and acceptance. There were lots of good things happening. It contributed to marriage equality because it was easier for Americans to get to know us over social media, not just in person. Now, all that has changed.

Social media is not purely destructive. Many good people connect with people, giving them access to much information and perspectives they would not otherwise hear. But there is also this dark side in terms of people going down bizarre rabbit holes and getting brainwashed. Social media allowed a broad swath of society to see LGBTQ people as human beings. It allowed LGBTQ young people to see that there is hope for their future. But it’s also now a platform for vile extremists to slander us. 

Social media companies were funded and founded in Northern California. But they’ve begun to relinquish at moderation, especially X, which is supposedly moving to Texas.

People have a First Amendment right to say terrible things about others. Ultimately, we need to marginalize these disgusting, vile, bigoted viewpoints that slander LGBTQ and show what the truth is.

But how do we do that? Algorithms are making that impossible. The X thread about your Folsom appearance overflows with cruelty and falsehoods. 

Social media platforms must be accountable for what they’re doing to our democracy. Right now, there’s no accountability, but they need to own the fact that they are helping fuel bigotry and brainwashing.

But that won’t happen, at least not now. Elon Musk is the head troll, and he just called you an “utter scumbag.” Not just a scumbag, but an “utter” one. Haha. Your response that this was a “projection” seems right on.  But more generally, how do you translate the community event that celebrates sexuality to more conservative voters who don’t know us?

Folsom is a beautiful community event. But it’s not for everyone. If it’s not for you, don’t go. Unfortunately, you now have a whole cottage industry of people cherry-picking this or that or the other thing happening at Folsom. Then, they use it to denounce an entire community. But most people people buy into that. Most people would agree that if you don’t like it, don’t go. We are talking about a limited group of people, but they are dangerous. A large majority of Americans support equality and people being able to associate with whomever they want and enjoy themselves.

When I was young and with a limited income, I was able to live in queer communities, whether in West Village or Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., or Castro. You could work in a cafe and rent a room in one of the safe places where you could develop personally and socially amid a supportive community. Is that dream now over for young people due to the cost of housing?

The cost of housing in urban areas, which have historically been our havens, is a problem. That’s why I focus so much energy on trying to end our housing shortage, make it easier to build new homes, and bring down the cost. 

It’s not just about the gay kids who want to live in the Castro. It’s about, you know, people become homeless because they’ve lost housing. They move to the suburbs, which creates longer commutes. There are all kinds of negative consequences to an increase in housing costs. 

I’m a YIMBY; my mom’s a NIMBY. I live in San Francisco; she lives in Marin. What arguments should we employ to bring people around?

We have a dysfunctional, broken system in which service workers can’t afford to live in the communities where they work, and young people can’t afford to live in the communities where they grew up. Kids have multiple teachers in one year because teachers keep moving away. You know, views are great, but people’s need to have homes is even greater. Digging ourselves out of this housing hole will take time, but we must start somewhere. 

When you were both young, you hung out with Kamala Harris, politicos getting started in San Franciso. The Harris-Walz ticket is undoubtedly the most pro-gay in history, with Harris coming of age surrounded by queer community and Walz, of course, famously volunteering to advise the gay-straight alliance at the public school where he was a teacher.

President Biden is the most pro-LGBTQ president in American history. Remember, he came out for marriage equality even before President Obama. Let’s not forget this. And I’ve known Kamala Harris for 22 years, and she gets it regarding LGBTQ people. We are going to have real friends in the White House.

Can you tell me a personal story about Harris when she was in San Francisco?

When she ran for District Attorney in 2003, I volunteered for the campaign and took her on a crawl of gay bars–Midnight Sun, the Mix, Twin Peaks, to Daddys. She was just so at ease and just comfortable being in a queer environment. She’s 100 percent supportive.

You have a law degree from Harvard and are now a prolific lawmaker. We have worked this system to earn a semblance of equality in America. MAGA and Christian nationalists have lobbied for autocracy or theocracy. Do you fear for the future of democracy and the rule of law?

We must continually strengthen society to ensure we have the institutions and media a healthy democracy requires. That’s how you combat these attacks. 

It’s scary, but we can do it.

Chris Bull, the author of Perfect Enemies: The Battle Between the Religious Right and the Gay Movement, is the editorial director of Q.Digital.

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