Pennsylvania's Shame: Republican State Senator Says We're "Allowing" Gay People To Exist "

by Michael Morrill

I listened to it live, but I couldn’t believe my ears. So I waited for the podcast and listened again. And he really said it.


A Republican Pennsylvania State Senator told a Philadelphia radio audience that our society is “allowing” gay people to exist.

Senator John Eichelberger (R-30) made his remarks today in a live radio debate with Senator Daylin Leach (D-17) on the Radio Times show on WHYY-FM. The debate was over the senators’ competing bills on marriage equality.

Eichelberger’s bill would enshrine discrimination and bigotry by amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to ban same-sex unions.

Sen. Leach’s bill (SB 935) would expand the definition of marriage and allow same-sex couples to wed.

Michael Morrill's diary:

Eichelberger also made other disparaging remarks about LGBT people and compared gay marriage to marrying a 13 year old.

I’m appalled that an elected official holds views like these. But I’m even more upset that he feels comfortable saying them in public.

If you’re as angry as I am, please take a moment to send an email to Sen. Eichelberg by clicking here.

Tell him no one “allows” LGBT people to exist.

It’s time to stand up and say we won’t allow bigots to say things like this with
impunity.

Take action now! Write to Eichelberger by clicking here

Here’s a partial transcript of Eichelberger’s remarks. Times are approximate. You can take action at:

http://www.keystoneprogress.org/

You can listen to the whole debate at: http://www.whyy.org/...


21:15
Leach: How would he [Eichelberger] want to encourage stability in gay couples?

Eichelberger: I wouldn’t. I mean they can practice whatever sexual activity they like to practice, but there’s no reason to give them special consideration. We don’t give them special consideration in Pennsylvania for any reason. Why in the world would we allow them to marry?

22:05
Leach: How would he want to encourage stability in gay couples?
Eichelberger: There is no reason to encourage that type of behavior in Pennsylvania.

24:20
Eichelberger: That comes back to the definition of family and that’s where we differ. We can call all kinds of things families. I mean, we can say a 3 party marriage is a family, or 7 or 8 people or marrying younger and younger children these days .

25:00
Host: Are you saying that by their very nature homosexual relationships are dysfunctional?
Eichelberger: [Pause] Ummmm. I guess I would say that. I would say that.

38:50
Eichelberger: This changes the definition of marriage, allowing same-sex, and then like I said, 5-10 years from now it’ll be polygamy, marrying younger people, it’ll be whatever…It won’t be a 6 year old, it’ll be a 15 year old, then it’ll be a 14 year old, then it’ll be a 13 year old.

49:40
Leach: Should our only policy towards [same-sex] couples be one of punishment, to somehow prove that they’ve done something wrong?
Eichelberger: They’re not being punished. We’re allowing them to exist, and do what every American can do. We’re just not rewarding them with any special designation.