Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill
James isn't backing down from calling gay people “sexual
predators.”
The North Carolina lawmaker says he's
received death threats after media outlets reported his comments.
When County Commission Chair Jennifer
Roberts, a Democrat, requested to send a letter thanking members of
North Carolina's Congressional delegation for supporting repeal of
“Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the law that bans gay and bisexual
troops from serving openly, James objected in a email exchange.
“Homosexuals are sexual predators,”
James, a Republican, wrote. “Allowing homosexuals to serve in the
US military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission
ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining U.S.
military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the
current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share
showers with those they are attracted to.”
“I think there are a lot of things
that people of all political stripes tolerate from their politicians.
But endorsing immorality and allowing military recruits to be preyed
on by homosexuals is not one that I will tolerate,” he added.
North
Carolina Senator Richard Burr was among the eight Republicans whose
votes helped end the ban. Senator Kay Hagan, a Democrat, also
voted for repeal.
“I suspect Richard Burr will pay a
high electoral price for his actions but whether it boots him from
office next time is unknown,” James wrote. “I know I won't be
supporting him even if he does have an R after his name.”
While
a Change.org petition calling on the board to censure James for his
anti-gay remarks has attracted more than 1,200 signatures, the
Republican is not backing down.
“People are entitled to their opinion
and that includes me,” James
told the Charlotte
Observer
on Thursday. “I don't expect people to [always] agree with me.
It's a political discussion and I wouldn't have raised it on my own,
but Jennifer [Roberts] decided to wade in on it.”
James
also responded to the controversy in the comments section of a
theCLog blog post titled What
the hell is wrong with Bill James?
“I just say what everyone else thinks
and believes. Homosexuality is the only sin/vice with a political
action committee” James wrote.