The Downtown Hope Center When Rep. Jennifer Wexton from Virginia asked HUD Secretary Ben Carson to apologize for saying that transgendered “big hairy men” were trying to get into women’s shelters, Carson would not apologize.
After all, the brain surgeon serving in the Trump Administration had only been relaying a story he had heard from Alaskan women regarding an organization in the 49th state that was being asked to admit men into its women’s shelter.
Which organization? Wexton pursued.
Carson couldn’t remember the name of it, but went on to criticize the politically correct enforcement on free speech that seems to have infected the U.S. House of Representatives and the rest of the public square.
The brief exchange came during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on access to affordable housing, particularly by protected classes. Wexton said she was giving Carson a “chance to apologize” for remarks made to HUD employees during a recent meeting.
Take a look at his response to Wexton:
In 2017, the Downtown Hope Center found itself at a crossroads when a man, who was dressed as a woman, asked for a floor mat for the night. He wanted to sleep among all the other women who were there that night.
The shelter only serves women, and specifically women who have been abused or trafficked. And the man-cum-woman was drunk and belligerent.
The shelter said no, the individual and the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission sued the center for violating his/her rights. Eventually the case was settled, with the Downtown Hope Center and the Alliance for Defending Freedom winning a large settlement from the municipality.
The person at the center of the controversy, who was Timothy Coyle but is now known as Samantha Coyle, is interviewed in this KTUU report, where News Anchor Mike Ross refers to Samantha by the pronoun “they” in the story’s introduction. Coyle says her government identification says that now she is female.
Since that interview with KTUU, Coyle’s woes have continued. Although she was able to get into an apartment, she has been recently served with eviction papers for nonpayment of rent for the Weidner apartment. A court hearing was held last on Oct. 24, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for Dec. 5.
