During a town hall event hosted by CNN and Jubilee, Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico (D-TX) addressed criticism over his past comments about religion, his stance on abortion and the importance of maintaining civil discourse amid political disagreements.
The event featured Talarico speaking with a handful of undecided Texas voters, allowing them to ask questions about his religious beliefs, political positions and policy proposals.
Given the attention surrounding some of his past comments, it was no surprise that voters quickly raised his 2021 remarks describing God as “non-binary” and referencing “six genders.”
“When I said that I was being provocative and I want to admit that and come clean about that,” Talarico said.
Talarico added that he does not think what he said was “controversial theologically,” clarifying that his comments reflected the belief that God cannot be fully understood through human categories.
“The idea that we can’t define god using human categories,” Talarico said. “Not only did I say that, but the late Charlie Kirk said that, the late Pope Benedict said that.”
Talarico was also confronted on his pro-abortion stance. He said Texas’ current abortion ban prevents the procedure in all cases, even when medically necessary.
“We currently see women dying in emergency room parking lots from sepsis because their doctors are too afraid,” he said.
Talarico said the ban not only affects Texas women, but Texas girls.
“If we are effectively pro-life, I think we should be disturbed by the outcomes of this extreme abortion ban,” Talarico said.
Despite his positions on these issues, the Texas state representative continued to urge the audience to engage with those who disagree with him. He said disagreements should be approached with love and respect rather than hostility.
“It’s ok if you and I have disagreements about our interpretations of scripture, or certainly about political or policy topics,” he said. “And we can do that as we are called to do in scripture, do it with love.”
