Anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Elise Stefanik(R-NY) was booed offstage during her speaking engagement in Pittsburgh, New York, on Monday, causing her to leave the lectern less than a minute after she began speaking.Stefanik, who is theHouse Republican leadership chair,appeared at a nonpartisan event to honor former John Zurlo,a clerk in Clinton County who served for eight terms until he died last December at the age of 86. The county named its government center after Zurlo; Zurlos family and county officials attended. Related Republican leader called Democrats pedo grifters for giving baby formula to immigrants But crowd members booed, shouting Traitor! and Shame! as Stefanik approached the lectern and began reading her opening comments. The heckling caused her to grimace and walk away less than a minute later.Before walking away, Stefanik said, This crowd is not being respectful of John Zurlo, and he was deeply respected, adding, Im going to turn it back to you,to the man who introduced her. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today When she returned to the lectern a second time, the crowd continued to boo her, with some shouting You sold us out! and Unseal the Epstein files! Boing Boing wrote.Rep. Elise Stefanik booed off stage at an event in Plattsburgh, NY. After a few uncomfortable seconds of screams and boos, she left the lectern rather than deliver her prepared remarks pic.twitter.com/sMlWDrLamR Joe Khalil (@JoeKhalilTV) August 18, 2025 Stefanik latercriticized the crowd via X, writing, Today [the district] witnessed shameful conduct by radical Far Left Democrat agitators who disgracefully attempted to drown out and silence a non-political event in Plattsburgh to honor the lifelong service of John Zurlo in Clinton County as the building was named in his honor.While Stefanik claimed that the attendees were far-left agitators, in her 2024 re-election race, 132,447 of her constituents voted for her Democratic opponents. A quick history of Stefaniks anti-LGBTQ+ stancesIn April 2023, Stefanikvoted in support of a billthat would require federally supported schools and colleges to ban transgender athletes from playing sports. She also opposed a New York State bill supporting public accommodation protections for trans people.Stefanik has voiced support forthe so-called Parents Bill of Rights, a bill that would out trans kids to their potentially unsupportive parents and would also require schools to list all library books and curricula online.In 2022, Stefanik was among 47 House Republicans who voted with Democrats to help pass the Respect for Marriage Act, a law that requires federal and state governments to recognize same-sex unions. In February 2021, she co-sponsored the Fairness for All Act, a law that sought to simultaneously prohibit discrimination against gender identity and sexual orientation while allowing exemptions for religious organizations and service providers to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. Shewithdrew her support for the billone year later after religious and conservative groups criticized it for acknowledging the existence of trans people.In 2019, was one of eight Republicanswho voted in favor of the Equality Act, a law that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal anti-discrimination laws. However, in 2021, she voted against it even though the bills text hadnt substantially changed.In 2016, shevoted to add a provisionto the National Defense Authorization Act that would allow anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in all federal agencies.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.