A Florida state representative expressed how much his political party hates gay people while urging his colleagues to vote in favor of a bill urging Congress to “restore” the military’s “warfighting ethos” and rid it of “woke social engineering and experimentation practices.”
On Monday, Republican Rep. Jeff Holcomb spoke in Florida’s House, but his remarks drew gasps and disturbed looks from some lawmakers.
“Isis, the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda, those are the folks who discriminate. We bombed a building in 2017 like we never usually do. We bombed it because they threw homosexuals off that building,” Holcomb said.
He then said out loud what many are saying was the quiet part.
“Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals more than we do,” the Republican legislator said.
As Holcomb made the stunning admission, the chamber filled with gasps and rumbles.
State Rep. Kelly Skidmore, a Democrat seated behind Holcomb as he spoke, recoiled, her disgust visible on her face.
“They’re the ones who discriminate our job in the military, our Navy Creed. ‘I’m committed to excellence and fair treatment of all.’ That’s what we learn in boot camp. That’s what we drill into ourselves each and every day,” Holcomb concluded.
Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former state representative running for state Senate in Florida and a gay man, called out the comment.
“Florida GOP Representative Jeff Holcomb says the quiet part out loud on the House floor today. ‘Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals MORE THAN WE DO.’ Audible gasping in the chamber. And then there’s @RepSkidmore’s reaction,” he wrote, adding a shocked face emoji.
“He outright admits Republicans hate LGBTQ people,” wrote Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic instructor and trans rights activist Alejandra Caraballo, posting a video of the moment.
Others remarked on Skidmore’s revulsion.
One person wrote, “Her face, the moment he says it!”
