Virginia State Senator Danica Roem (D) stormed out of the legislative chamber after Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears called him “sir.” Roem‚ in 2018‚ became the first openly transgender individual to be seated in a state legislature in United States after being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Roem was sworn-in to the Virginia Senate in 2024. After Roem left the room‚ the Senate went into two recesses. “I am not here to upset anyone. I am here to do the job that the people of Virginia have called me to do‚” Sears later said. WATCH: WATCH: Virginia Lt. Gov. @WinsomeSears refers to transgender State Senator Danica Roem as "sir." He then storms out of the room and the senate went into two recesses. Sears then came back out and said "I am not here to upset anyone. I am here to do the job that the people of… pic.twitter.com/WYbRP2h5EA — Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 26‚ 2024 “After two recesses and her initial refusal to apologize‚ Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears eventually said she was sorry‚ but she did not specifically say that to Sen. Danica Roem‚ D-Prince William County‚” The Progress-Index reports. Trans Virginia State Senator Danica Roem stormed out of the chamber on Feb. 26 after briefly speaking &; hearing Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears‚ respond‚ “Yes‚ sir.” Roem‚ who is male‚ has a man’s voice but wears women’s clothing. Read: https://t.co/NbyxbTDlxU — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) February 27‚ 2024 From The Progress-Index: Instead‚ she looked at each section of the chamber and said‚ “I apologize.” However‚ she appeared agitated in making that apology‚ saying that while she meant no disrespect in her comment‚ she chastised Senate Democrats for what she claimed was “showing disrespect towards me.” It happened during discussion on House Bill 592‚ when Roem was asking Earle-Sears questions about the measure. In response to one of those questions‚ Earle-Sears replied‚ “Yes‚ sir.” Roem then put down her microphone and walked out of the chamber. Following the second recess requested by Democrats‚ Earle-Sears said there “was no intent to offend” when she made the remark‚ claiming that she had misspoken before. “I apologize‚ I apologize‚ I apologize‚” Sears said during the session‚ according to The Hill. “And I would hope‚ I would hope‚ that everyone would understand there is no intent to offend‚ but that we will also give each other the ability to forgive each other‚” she added. Transgender Virginia state senator Danica Roem storms out of chamber being called “sir” by Winsome Sears. Good for Sears. No one should play this game for another second. https://t.co/HsTGZAB8Ki — John Cardillo (@johncardillo) February 27‚ 2024 The Hill reports: Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D)‚ another transgender state legislator‚ called Sears’s misgendering of Roem “[d]eliberately cruel &; unacceptable” in response to a video showing the comments. “If @WinsomeSears was unwilling to gender @pwcdanica correctly‚ she could have simply used her title: Senator Roem‚” Zephyr said Monday in a post on X‚ the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The only reason you intentionally misgender a sitting legislator is because you want to show your cruelty to the world‚” Zephyr continued. Roem is Virginia’s first openly transgender state senator and the first out transgender person elected in state Senate in the South. She defeated a former Fairfax County police detective‚ Bill Woolf‚ who pledged to prevent transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams and was endorsed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).