A former state representative who serves on the Republican
National Committee continues to fight off calls for his resignation after he
posted a controversial article on his Facebook page that denounced “filthy”
homosexuals.
Dave Agema, who was one of the most conservative members
of the state House, particularly on social issues, posted on FB an article
entitled “Everyone Should Know These Statistics on Homosexuals.” The article,
supposedly written by a medical doctor, depicts gays as sexually promiscuous
and claims that they are to blame for “half the murders in large cities.”
In response to the controversial post, 21 Republicans publicly
called for Agema’s resignation from the RNC, and the list is growing. They released a statement written by Dennis Lennox, a Grand Traverse County Republican precinct delegate.
“This isn’t about what we believe either politically or
as women and men of faith,” the group said. “This is about common decency and
realizing that you cannot win an election by insulting a wide swath of the
electorate whose votes our Republican Party needs to once again form a national
majority.”
Agema made a statement of his own, blaming the growing
controversy on “liberal Republicans” and asserting that the Dr. Frank Joseph
article was “worth sharing” at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing
same-sex marriage issues.
Slate’s Dave Weigel on Wednesday first reported that Agema,
a West Michigan Republican who was term-limited at the end of 2012, had posted
a commentary that claims “homosexual sexual encounters occur while drunk, high
on drugs, or in an orgy setting,” and that “50 percent of suicides can be
attributed to homosexuals.”
The RNC has remained largely mute about the furor.
In a statement sent to Time magazine earlier today, RNC
Chairman Reince Priebus said: “The party’s position on traditional marriage is
clear but as I have been saying, all human beings deserve to be treated with
dignity and respect.” he said. Priebus stopped short of directly condemning
Agema.
Michigan GOP chairman Bobby Schostak was a bit firmer,
according to Time, but he did not repudiate the FB post or call for Agema to
step aside. “Our party remains in support of traditional marriage but that
should never be allowed nor confused with any form of hate or discrimination
toward anyone,” Schostak said in yet another statement. “Any statement or
message in contrast undermines our party’s platform and our common-sense
conservative message.”
Lennox, a Republican activist and a columnist for the
Mount Pleasant Morning Sun, blasted the RNC for the tepid response to Agema’s actions.
“It’s clear that Republicans need to learn a lesson in
the wake of Todd Aiken, Sharron Angle, and other candidates who have said
deplorable things like this,” he said. “They spit in the face of voters whose
support we need if we’re going to win the White House again.”

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