Politician urged to resign for stopping meeting because a man grazed his arm
A politician in the US state of Pennsylvania has been urged to resign after stopping a public meeting because a fellow lawmaker grazed his arm.
The meeting was stopped by the conservative lawmaker, Representative Daryl Metalfe, after colleague Representative Matt Bradford touched his arm briefly.
After Bradford placed his hand briefly on Metcalfe’s arm while he was making a point, Metcalfe broke out into a rant about how he doesn’t like men.
He says: “Look, I’m a heterosexual. I have a wife, I love my wife, I don’t like men — as you might. But stop touching me all the time.
Going on, he says: “Keep your hands to yourself… If you want to touch somebody, you have people on your side of the aisle who might like it. I don’t.”
Following the comments, which were caught on video, available to view below, Metcalfe has been urged to resign.
Critics include Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, who said Republican House leaders should remove him as the chair of that committee.
Wolf called the statements “offensive and discriminatory”.
And a statement from the Democrats in Pennsylvania reads: “State Representative Daryl Metcalfe has always been a problem in Harrisburg. He has invited white supremacists to the capitol testify on behalf of his positions, defended white nationalists, and refused to condemn racist violence.
“The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has previously called upon Metcalfe to resign over his repeated racism. In addition to being racist, Metcalfe is homophobic. He has silenced gay lawmakers, held up non-discrimination laws and, just today, went on a random homophobic tirade directed at one of his colleagues.”
And a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Brandon Cwalina, added: “Enough is enough. Daryl Metcalfe is a walking, talking embarrassment to Pennsylvanians and doesn’t deserve the honour of serving in public office.”
He continues: “For years Metcalfe has taken policy positions based on bigoted misconceptions and fear of minority groups and the LGBT community, but today he has gone beyond the pale. We are again calling on Daryl Metcalfe to resign and to apologize to all Pennsylvanians for his ridiculously bigoted behaviour.”
Check out the bizarre rant below:
