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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    West Virginia Lawmaker Asked to Resign

    West+Virginia+Lawmaker+Asked+to+Resign

    Eric Porterfield, a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, has been called to resign from the West Virginia Democratic Party after making extremely offensive remarks towards the LGBT+ community.

    Porterfield publicly stated that he believes that members of the LGBT+ community are, “political terrorists…they are probably the closest things to the Ku Klux Klan in the modern political era.”

    Additionally, upon being asked what he would do if his children told him they were gay/lesbian, he replied: “I would see if they could swim.” This response begs the question: Did he just imply he would drown his own children if they questioned their sexuality?

    This anachronistic and despicable thinking is extremely concerning considering it is coming from a government official. In today’s polarized society it is not uncommon to hear such discriminatory statements from radicals like Porterfield. However, these remarks are not just an expression of political opinion, they are a verbal attack on an entire community of people.

    Senior Ally Latham commented on these remarks saying: “I will never understand the hateful, ignorant, and despicable mindset that Eric Porterfield possesses. It saddens me to know that there are people like him working for our government.”

    It is people like Eric Porterfield that hold our country back from reaching its greatest potential. To publicly compare such a prominent and non-violent community to the KKK is despicable and hugely offensive to our nation as a whole. It is one thing to disagree with a certain group of people, but it is completely different to actively target and disrespect them.

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