“I regret using any words that hurt people or that make people think I hate them, or that make people think I look down on them.”
—E.W. Jackson, a Republican candidate for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat, in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch in which Jackson attempted to dispel what he feels are misconceptions about his conservative beliefs.
Jackson previously ran for lieutenant governor in 2013, losing to Ralph Northam in the general election. During that campaign, Jackson came under intense criticism for controversial statements he made about LGBTQ rights, abortion, and a host of other social issues. Some of those statements included calling gay people “very sick” and “perverted.”
Attempting to set the record straight, Jackson told the Times-Dispatch that he regrets the tone of his past comments.
He still opposes same-sex marriage and measures that promote LGBTQ equality, such as nondiscrimination laws, but says he hopes to communicate his conservative values in a less offensive manner.
“I am going to endeavor in this campaign to express that in a way that calls attention to my faith, where appropriate, without implying some sort of hostility against gay people or transgender people,” Jackson said. “Because I don’t believe that. And that’s one of the many lessons I’ve learned.”
Jackson, the pastor of The Called — Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va., also attempted to put his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric into context.
He noted that the comments for which he came under fire were “said not in the context of a campaign but on Christian radio where I’m speaking as a pastor and minister to Christians.”
He also claims that if he were to see someone bullying a gay or transgender person, he would step in “and physically fight for them.”
Jackson is one of four GOP candidates currently running for the seat held held by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.
Also seeking the party’s nomination is Corey Stewart, a former Prince William County supervisor who almost toppled Ed Gillespie in this year’s Republican primary after running a Trump-style campaign seizing on preserving Confederate monuments as a way of opposing “political correctness.”
The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill stripping away Walt Disney World Resort's self-governance powers as retribution for Disney's actions taken in response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.
The legislature approved the bill, which puts the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special tax district covering 25,000 acres of Disney properties in Orange and Osceola counties, under the thumb of a special board whose members will be appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, reports The Associated Press.
DeSantis, a backer of the "Don't Say Gay" law, also known as the "Parental Rights in Education" bill has claimed that the move is to end decades of Disney being given special perks that aren't granted to other corporations, such as the ability to govern itself, including providing public safety services and approving major infrastructure or development plans without having to seek the approval of local regulators.
A Rhode Island lawmaker asked a lesbian colleague if she was a "pedophile" during debate over an equity and inclusion bill that he opposed.
State Rep. Robert Quattrocchi (R-Scituate) made the comments during a State House hearing on the pros and cons of a bill requiring an "equity impact" statement before lawmakers vote on any proposed legislation.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Kislak (D-Providence), as well as a similar measure introduced in the State Senate, seeks to address existing disparities and avoid exacerbating them by taking into account how proposed legislation may impact disadvantaged or minority communities that already bear the brunt of discrimination and structural inequities, reports The Providence Journal.
In a now-viral email, a gay man gave his Republican-voting family an ultimatum.
He warned them that they could not continue to vote for the GOP and maintain their relationship with him.
Ryan Short, 42, of Seattle, sent the email to his family, who reside in Dallas, Texas, following a conversation with his dad, Richard, an 80-year-old war veteran who votes Republican.
"We were just having one of our random catch-ups and he just casually said, 'I'm still Republican,'" Short told Insider.
Short asked if his dad still supported the party despite its recent rhetoric against LGBTQ people, to which his father responded, "Yes."
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“I regret using any words that hurt people or that make people think I hate them, or that make people think I look down on them.”
—E.W. Jackson, a Republican candidate for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat, in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch in which Jackson attempted to dispel what he feels are misconceptions about his conservative beliefs.
Jackson previously ran for lieutenant governor in 2013, losing to Ralph Northam in the general election. During that campaign, Jackson came under intense criticism for controversial statements he made about LGBTQ rights, abortion, and a host of other social issues. Some of those statements included calling gay people “very sick” and “perverted.”
Attempting to set the record straight, Jackson told the Times-Dispatch that he regrets the tone of his past comments.
He still opposes same-sex marriage and measures that promote LGBTQ equality, such as nondiscrimination laws, but says he hopes to communicate his conservative values in a less offensive manner.
“I am going to endeavor in this campaign to express that in a way that calls attention to my faith, where appropriate, without implying some sort of hostility against gay people or transgender people,” Jackson said. “Because I don’t believe that. And that’s one of the many lessons I’ve learned.”
Jackson, the pastor of The Called — Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va., also attempted to put his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric into context.
He noted that the comments for which he came under fire were “said not in the context of a campaign but on Christian radio where I’m speaking as a pastor and minister to Christians.”
He also claims that if he were to see someone bullying a gay or transgender person, he would step in “and physically fight for them.”
Jackson is one of four GOP candidates currently running for the seat held held by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.
Also seeking the party’s nomination is Corey Stewart, a former Prince William County supervisor who almost toppled Ed Gillespie in this year’s Republican primary after running a Trump-style campaign seizing on preserving Confederate monuments as a way of opposing “political correctness.”
The other Republicans seeking the seat are Ivan Raiklin, a veteran and D.C. tech investor, and Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper), who introduced a bill that would have allowed individuals and businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people without any consequences, so long as they claimed the discrimination was based on their sincerely held religious beliefs.
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