North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is under fire after video of him surfaced on social media disparaging the LGBTQ+ community this summer.
Robinson made his remarks at the Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove, N.C., back in June. In the footage, which was posted by Right Wing Watch, the Republican is heard saying, “there’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality — any of that filth.”
Now, Democratic state senators are calling for him to step down, according to CNN.
“There’s no debate here. This is open discrimination. It is completely unacceptable,” state senator Jeff Jackson, a candidate for US Senate in 2022, said in a tweet. “Mark Robinson should resign.”
His commentary was really awful. Here is more of what he said in the video:
“It is flat-out child abuse. They take your children, and tell them they have to attend school, don’t have a choice. And then some of them will tell them they don’t want you to have a choice where they go to school, you have to send your children here to school. Then when they get there, what do they teach them? Teach them a bunch of stuff about how to hate America, teach them a bunch of stuff about why they are racist, teach them a bunch of stuff about transgenderism and homosexuality,” Robinson said.
“I’m saying this now, and I’ve been saying it, and I don’t care who likes it — those issues have no place in the school. There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality — any of that filth. And yes, I called it filth, and if you don’t like it that I called it filth — come see me and I’ll explain it to you,” the lieutenant governor adds.
When asked to explain his hateful words, Robinson’s office responded by saying that the lieutenant governor was referring to education. In an interview with local CNN affiliate WTVD, the Republican insisted that he wasn’t talking about equality.
“We are not talking about the fight for equality, and if those people want to challenge me on that, that’s fine,” he said. “What I’m talking about are intimate details and, yes, there is material out there that shares intimate details about homosexuality, about sexuality in general, to our students. That has got to stop.”
Of course, Robinson did not back down. He released a new video Saturday defending his comments, saying that, “I will not back down, I will not be silent and I will not be bullied into submission.
The good news is that this asshole is not the governor.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s office told CNN in a statement that the state supported LGBTQ+ people.
“North Carolina is a welcoming state where we value public education and the diversity of our people,” he said. “It’s abhorrent to hear anyone, and especially an elected official, use hateful rhetoric that hurts people and our state’s reputation.”