WASHINGTON – Tonight, all signs point to North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson becoming the Republican party’s 2024 candidate for governor. Robinson is one of the most radical anti-LGTBQ+ MAGA politicians on the ballot this year, with a long record of demeaning LGTBQ+ people and spreading hateful, vile rhetoric without abandon. Among many other “lowlights,” Robinson has:

• Referred to being transgender and homosexuality as “filth” and said gays are equivalent to "what the cows leave behind" as well as "maggots" and "flies."

• Called straight couples “superior” to LGBTQ+ couples

• Said transgender women should be arrested over bathroom use and suggested transgender people instead “find a corner outside somewhere” to go to the bathroom

• Said the Pride flag “Makes me sick every time I see it — a church that flies that Rainbow flag, which is a direct spit in the face of God almighty”

Beyond his bigoted anti-LGTBQ+ views, Robinson is also a Holocaust denier, an election denier, wants to ban all abortions in North Carolina, and has mocked victims of school shootings. In short, there are few people who haven’t faced Robinson’s wrath.

Geoff Wetrosky, Vice President of National Campaigns at the Human Rights Campaign, released the following statement:

“Mark Robinson has nothing to offer the people of North Carolina except hate, embarrassment, and a commitment to making the state as unwelcoming as possible. He cannot be allowed to get anywhere near the governor’s office. His vitriol for LGBTQ+ North Carolinians isn’t just disqualifying–it’s dangerous and would leave thousands of North Carolinians at risk for bullying, harassment, and violence. If Robinson doesn't understand how anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is received in North Carolina, he should ask former Governor Pat McCrory.”

HRC’s Equality Votes PAC will be communicating with the 1.8 million North Carolina Equality Voters–voters modeled to prioritize LGTBQ+ equality when making their voting decisions–from now until November to ensure they know about Robinson’s dangerous record and understand what’s at stake for LGTBQ+ North Carolinians.

More info on Robinson’s vile anti-LGBTQ+ record:

Robinson Called LGBTQ People “Filth,” “Maggots,” And Equivalent To “What Cows Leave Behind,” And Said The Nation Would Not Survive God’s Wrath If It Affirmed Transgender Children.”

• Robinson Called LGBTQ People “Filth.” “Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) said he stands by comments he made referring to being transgender and homosexuality as “filth,” as some LGBTQ state leaders called on him to resign Monday [CBS, 10/11/21]

• Robinson Said Straight People Are “Superior.” “North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has once again verbally attacked the LGBTQ+ community. According to The News & Observer in Raleigh, Robinson said in a sermon November 14 at Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem that straight couples are "superior" to gay couples because a straight couple could potentially sexually reproduce…Robinson told the congregation that gays are equivalent to "what the cows leave behind" as well as "maggots" and "flies." He added that all of these things serve some purpose in God's creation. "If homosexuality is of God, what purpose does it serve? What does it make? What does it create? It creates nothing," Robinson told the congregation. This isn't the first time that Robinson has bashed the LGBTQ+ community. Robinson recently defended comments he made over the summer calling transgender people and homosexuality "filth.""And yes, I called it filth, and if you don't like that I called it filth, come see me and I'll explain it to you," he said. He also called homosexuality a sin.” [Advocate, 11/22/21]

• Robinson The Nation Would Not Survive God’s Wrath If It Affirmed Transgender Children. “Robinson has repeatedly expressed views that are antagonistic toward transgender individuals. In one of his Facebook posts, he shared a magazine cover featuring a transgender child, labeling them as “sick” and “demonic.” He went on to claim that the nation would not “survive God’s wrath” if it continued to accept transgender children.” [Advocate, 3/4/24]

Robinson Said Transgender Women Should Be Arrested Over Bathroom Use And Should Go Outside Instead

• Robinson Said Transgender Women Should Be Arrested Over Bathroom Use. “Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is the leading Republican candidate ahead of the state’s primary for governor on March 5, implied at a campaign event this month that transgender women should be arrested if they use women’s restrooms. “We’re going to defend women in this state,” he said in a speech at a campaign stop in Cary. “That means if you’re a man on Friday night and all of the sudden on Saturday, you feel like a woman and you want to go in the women’s bathroom in the mall, you will be arrested — or whatever we got to do to you.” At an event in Greenville, Robinson said people who “are confused” about their gender should “find a corner outside somewhere to go” to the bathroom. “We’re not tearing society down because of this,” he added, seven years after North Carolina partly repealed HB 2, also known as the “bathroom bill,” which barred transgender people from using the restrooms and changing facilities that match their gender identities in most public spaces. The bill drew nationwide criticism and boycotts, and it was projected to cost the state billions.” [NBC, 2/13/24]

• Robinson Said Transgender People Should Go Outside To Use The Bathroom. “His stance on transgender rights is not new. Records from his Facebook show that as far back as 2016, he suggested that transgender people should relieve themselves “outside,” a stance that aligns with his support for policies that restrict bathroom use based on the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate.” [Advocate, 3/4/24]

Robinson Said God Created Him To Fight Against LGBTQ Rights

• Robinson Said God Created Him To Fight Against LGBTQ Rights. “As he prepares for an expected campaign for governor next year, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson continues to amp up rhetoric against gay, lesbian and transgender people that has become a key part of his political brand. Robinson said this Sunday during a church service outside Charlotte that God created him specifically to fight against the push for LGBTQ rights and visibility, which he says is turning America into a “hellhole.” “I was not crafted to be Mr. Nicey-Nice,” Robinson said. “... God formed me because he knew there was going to be a time when God’s learning was going to be intolerable to the wicked. When children were going to be dragged down to go see the drag show. When pornography was going to be presented to our children in schools.” [WRAL, 3/24/23]

• During NC Values Event, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson Said LGBTQ People Were Shoving “Homosexuality Garbage.” “Robinson's words, Scott said, illustrate why more local governments should push for LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances. But Robinson is standing by his words. When asked by WRAL in an Oct. 7 interview if he would use a different word besides "filth," he said, "absolutely not." In defending his comments, he argued he was specifically discussing the teaching of LGBTQ issues in public schools. "That is in reference to introducing it to children in the classroom," Robinson told WRAL, adding that "in our public schools, it has no place." Robinson made similar comments on Sept. 30 at an anniversary celebration for the North Carolina Values Coalition. "And they're pushing these perverted agendas, to try to teach our children that they're really not boys or girls, or they're shoving this homosexuality garbage down their throats," he said. What children are taught in schools has been a major issue for Robinson. In March, he launched a "fairness and accountability" task force called F.A.C.T.S aimed at "exposing indoctrination in the classroom." The task force's online portal allowed parents to report alleged instances of indoctrination in K-12 classrooms.” [Fayetteville Observer, 10/11/21]

Robinson Said The Pride Flag Made Him Sick

• Robinson Said The Pride Flag Made Him Sick. “Later on, he also slammed Christian churches that are accepting toward gay and lesbian people. “Makes me sick every time I see it — a church that flies that Rainbow flag, which is a direct spit in the face of God almighty,” he said. Robinson recently announced a rally in Alamance County next month, where he promised a big announcement — potentially his campaign for governor in 2024, which he has repeatedly hinted at but never formally confirmed.” [WRAL, 3/24/23]

• Robinson Said He Strongly Disagreed With The Pride Flag. “Following his remarks Tuesday, Robinson was also asked by an audience member about comments he made in June 2021, in which he told a church congregation there was "no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth.” Robinson later sought to clarify his remarks by saying he was describing books with explicit pictures and sexual descriptions available in school libraries. While responding to the audience member's question Tuesday, Robinson began discussing the rainbow Pride flag, which he said he strongly disagreed with. "The rainbow is a symbol of God's covenant with man, and as a Christian, I refuse to see it besmirched," Robinson said. "If it costs me the governorship of this state so be it, but I will not allow it to cost me my soul."” [WFAE, 8/22/23]