A Republican lawmaker has given a threatening response when asked what he would do if his kids were gay. West Virginia delegate Eric Porterfield appeared on WVVA, an NBC affiliate, to talk about homophobic comments he made last week, where he said that LGBTQ people are “a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan.”
During the interview, the GOP lawmaker was asked what he would do if his young children came to him one day and told him that they were gay.
Wearing a red MAGA cap, Porterfield replied with a creepy smile:
Well, I would dress my daughter first, as I would take her for a pedicure, I’d take her to get her nails done, and see if she could swim.
If it was my son, I would probably take him hunting, I would take him fishing, then I’d see if he could swim.
The reporter caught Porterfield’s apparent threat to dr0wn his own children and she asked him to clarify his statement.
Porterfield continued smiling and replied:
I just want to make sure they could swim.That’s it. I’d take them out to do activities.
Following his alarming comment, Porterfield has been called out by a number of people. Reporting on Porterfield’s disturbing remarks, LGBTQ Nation notes:
He was still smiling, as if threaten!ng to k!ll his own children were cute.
Porterfield has previously made other homophobic remarks, such as arguing that people should have the freedom to fire or deny someone housing based on their s*xual orientation. He also claimed that LGBT people are terrori$ts and likened the LGBTQ community to the Ku Klux Klan.
The West Virginia Democratic Party called for Porterfield’s resignation after his initial comment likening LGBT people to terrori$ts. In a statement, WVDP Chairwoman Belinda Biafore said:
West Virginia has no room for someone who expresses such hate. Let alone room for him to hold a public office where he is supposed to represent the people of West Virginia.
His hate-filled remarks and actions speak volumes and so does the Republican Party’s silence. The Republican majority’s leadership needs to condemn these actions. Their silence is complicit and the people of West Virginia deserve better.