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Log Cabin Republicans Demand Democrat Rep. Peters Apologize for Promoting Article Using Gay Slur Against Opponent

May 6, 2014

Washington, D.C. - Today Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is calling on Democratic Congressman Scott Peters to remove and apologize for an opinion piece promoted on his campaign website that refers to his gay Republican opponent Carl DeMaio using the slang term "Mary." The piece originally was posted on AmericaBlog and contained false and grossly-distorted claims about DeMaio's record on gay issues.

"There is no doubt that if the roles were reversed and a straight Republican congressman promoted content on his website calling his gay Democratic opponent a 'Mary,' there would be no end to the outrage from the left," said Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo. "Of course, when a Democrat does it, no one raises an eyebrow-but we're not going to let this slide."

Scott Peters was one of the co-sponsors of the Student Non-Discrimination Act "to protect against bullying or discrimination based on sexual orientation," reads a June 20, 2013 op-ed he penned in the U-T San Diego. Yet Peters himself is acting as a bully in promoting an article using pejorative gay slurs on his website's front page.

"All we're asking for is consistency," Angelo added. "For someone who allegedly is concerned about equality and fair treatment of all, it's hypocritical that Peters is participating in the behavior that he claims to despise. The wild inaccuracies and untruths about Carl DeMaio in the story Congressman Peters featured on his campaign homepage are bad enough, but giving tacit approval to using words like 'Mary' to refer to gay people in political discourse is beyond the pale."

Angelo concluded: "Congressman Peters needs to remove this story from his website at once, and issue a formal apology to Mr. DeMaio. If not, he needs to stand by the language he is promoting and tell voters in California's 52nd District if he believes all gay men are 'Marys.'"