California Governor Gavin Newsom has come under fire for falsely accusing a city in Tennessee of banning homosexuality in public.
Newsom's claim, made on social media platform X, was quickly debunked as misinformation.
The city of Murfreesboro did pass an ordinance in June, but it banned "indecent behavior" rather than specifically targeting homosexuality.
According to the Daily News Journal, the recent update to the city's ordinance removed outdated language that included "homosexuality" as inappropriate "sexual misconduct" on the city code. The revised ordinance now prohibits "indecent behavior," such as indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity, or sexual conduct.
The intention behind the ordinance is to promote public decency, maintain family-friendly environments in public places, and protect minors from offensive or prurient expressions that go against prevailing community standards.
Newsom's misleading post on X garnered significant attention, reaching over 4 million people. Critics accused the Democrat governor of intentionally spreading false information. The post was also flagged by X's community fact-checking service, highlighting the inaccuracies in Newsom's statement.
Seth Dillon, CEO of satirical news outlet Babylon Bee, criticized Newsom's misunderstanding, sarcastically remarking, "Gavin Newsom thinks being gay means exposing yourself in public." The Redheaded Libertarian, a libertarian political activist, pointed out the fallacy in Newsom's argument, stating, "Tennessee: You can't have sex in public. Gavin Newsom: OH SO YOU CAN'T BE GAY WOW."
Chicks on the Right, a conservative commentary website, called out Newsom for assuming that all gay individuals engage in lewd and indecent behavior. They also took a swipe at Newsom's recent controversial dinner at the French Laundry, saying, "Don't you have a reservation at French Laundry or something? Do that. Stop embarrassing yourself."
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