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Lesbian Lawmaker Loses Job Offer Over "Outing" Anti-LGBT Governor

Rep. Patricia Todd had been hired as executive director of the One Orlando Alliance, an organization created in the wake of the Pulse shooting.

State Rep. Patricia Todd, Alabama's only openly gay state legislator, has had her job offer rescinded from an LGBT non-profit after she publicly suggested Republican Gov. Kay Ivey is a closeted lesbian.

Todd, who isn't seeking reelection, was slated to become executive director of the One Orlando Alliance, an advocacy group formed in the wake the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in 2016. She was to start her new job at the beginning of next month.

"After careful deliberation, the board of directors of One Orlando Alliance unanimously decided to retract the offer of employment made to Patricia Todd to serve as executive director of the organization," the chairwoman of the group's board, Jennifer Foster, said in a statement.

"The board affirms that Ms. Todd's recent comments are not aligned with the values of One Orlando Alliance. We strongly believe that coming out is a personal choice and we do not support involuntarily outing."

State of Alabama

Todd posted an article to Twitter and Facebook Tuesday night in which Ivey (above), in response to criticism from a political opponent over funding going to another LGBT non-profit group Free2Be, said she doesn't "agree with the agenda or the values of that organization."

Todd included a call for someone to out Ivey, saying she had heard for years that the governor had moved her girlfriend out of her house when she assumed office. Todd has made her accounts private, but not before her comments had already been widely reported.

Patricia Todd/Twitter

Ivey has denied the allegation, calling it "disgraceful."

"“It’s false. It’s wrong. It’s a bald faced lie. And I’m not gonna let them get away with it," she said in a statement.

Christopher Cuevas of QLatinx, a member organization in the alliance, also had a harsh critique of Todd's actions, AL.com reports.

""Weaponizing queerness through the act of outing others is a violation of the sacred rite that we as queer people undergo in our journey of self-discovery," Cuevas said.

"It is a form of psychic and emotional violence; a violence that robs one of their ability to self-actualize and manifest their truth; a violence that hinders the fostering of fellowship and community; a violence that calls into question our ability to see the value in trusting others with our authentic self," they continued. "When our humanity is violated in this way, how can we find space to begin healing in self and to promote the healing and growth of others?"

Todd appeared on a local radio talk show in Birmingham today, where she showed some remorse, saying she took full responsibility for her actions.

"I would apologize that I framed my message wrong and that I wish I had addressed the issue of her disparaging remarks versus trying to out her," Todd told the hosts, but added that she felt the governor "can take the heat."

"My focus should have been her remarks about the organization," she said. "Unfortunately, I reacted in a moment of anger, frustration, and haste and I have to live with the consequences of that action, and I will."

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