A Republican representative from
Missouri has yet to apologize or face censure for calling gay people
less than human.
State Rep. Rick Brattin made his
comments from the Missouri House floor as lawmakers debated an
amendment to a bill that sought to ban discrimination in employment,
housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and
gender identity. The bill's author, Republican Rep. Kevin Engler,
withdrew the amendment before a vote was taken, saying that he did
not want to risk sinking the underlying bill.
“When you look at the tenets of
religion, of the Bible, of the Qur'an, of other religions, there is a
distinction between homosexuality and just being a human being,”
Brattin, 36, said from the House floor on Monday.
While the editorial board of the Kansas
City Star criticized the comments as “deplorable,” they
did not call for Brattin to be censured, saying only that he should
apologize.
As of Saturday, Brattin has not
apologized.
On Friday, the Kansas City Star
published a letter to the editor from a reader mocking Brattin's
comments.
“I am both shocked and humbled that
Missouri state Rep. Rick Brattin has discovered the truth about
homosexuality,” Willow
Onken wrote. “Whenever I kiss another woman, I cease to be
human. … When the transformation is complete, I'm compelled by an
insatiable urge to run naked through the woods, howling at the moon
until dawn. … Remember not to go to the park during or after sunset
– you might see a gay person enjoying a stroll.”