GOP House candidate Mark Assini, who is seeking to unseat Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter in New York's 25th district, had some very pointed opinions about LGBTQ Americans back when gays were still being kicked out of the military and Republicans were threatening a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. In other words, back when expressing animus toward this oppressed minority was still, not only acceptable, but politically expedient in many parts of the country. But Republican Assini really took being antigay to the next level. Brian Sharp writes:
The uproar relates to editor's notes written in response to reader responses to his blog posts on the website Writers on the Loose between 2005 and 2009. The postings have since been taken down but links provided by Monroe County Democrats show Assini agreeing with a reader who called members of the LGBTQ community "sexual deviants" and quoting a pastor who called transgender individuals "mentally disturbed."
In one post, Assini suggested Barney Frank, then an openly gay member of Congress, should go to prison, where "Old Barney would have plenty of dates along with three squares and cable TV."
Hey, nothing like a prison joke, no? Yeah, sorry, that goes way beyond believing that same-sex couples should be constitutionally shut out of marriage, which Assini did believe, though he says his views have changed now. I'm all for people evolving on LGBTQ equality issues, but the level of vitriol expressed in those posts goes way beyond a debate over rights. It's an attack on people's basic humanity. Makes you wonder which disenfranchised group will be next. Slaughter, meanwhile, has a proven history of standing with the LGBTQ community.
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