Punks spray-paint lawmaker's home with threat after he pushes for ban on trans surgery for minors — and lawmaker hits right back

A Republican state senator is hitting back after his home was vandalized last week with red spray paint spelling out a violent threat against him — and presumably it's all due to him sponsoring a Utah bill that would ban transgender surgeries for minors.

What are the details?

State Sen. Mike Kennedy's home was vandalized Thursday, KTVX-TV reported. The spray-painted message on one garage door read, “FASH." On another garage door and on the driveway in front of it, the message read, "THESE [WORD REDACTED] BASH BACK," the station said.

KTVX said it blurred out an offensive word from the spray-painted message that's "sometimes used to describe transgender individuals."

Sen. Mike Kennedy’s home vandalized with spray paint as possible ‘act of retaliation’ for transgendeyoutu.be

“The suspects appear to have targeted the senator based on legislation that recently passed in the last legislative session," Lone Peak police said in a statement, according to KTVX. "Officers are working diligently to gather evidence to find the suspects involved.”

Kennedy doesn't exactly seem as though he's shaking in his boots. Check out the statement he released in the wake of the vandalism, according to KTVX:

To those who seek to use violence, vandalism, and intimidation to deter me from standing up for what is right, let me be clear: you will not succeed. The recent vandalism to my home was not just an attack on me but on the very principles our state stands for. I will not be intimidated by your cowardly actions. I will not back down from fighting for what is right and just. Your attempt to threaten and silence me will only make me louder. I am more determined than ever to work with the good people of Utah toward a better future for our state. We will not let fear and violence control our destiny. As Utahns, we will always stand up and push back against radicals who seek to push their agenda in our state. I am determined to make our state a better place for all, especially our children, and I won’t back down.
SEN. MIKE KENNEDY, 4/20/23

Anything else?

The station added that representatives with Equality Utah — the state’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization — in a Friday statement decried the vandalism and violent message.

“To the extent this, or any other act of violence or vandalism against our public officials, is related to LGBTQ advocacy, we want to make it clear that Equality Utah condemns these tactics in the absolute strongest terms,” the statement read, according to KTVX.

The statement added that "we don’t know the ideology of those who vandalized Senator Kennedy’s house. But we have repeatedly asked conservatives to call out extremists on their side who verbally harass our community and attack our liberties with harmful legislation. In return, we now call out and condemn extremists who may identify with our side, who deploy tactics to intimidate and frighten political opponents.”

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