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Michigan Politician's Antigay Facebook Post Linked to Holocaust Denier

Michigan Politician's Antigay Facebook Post Linked to Holocaust Denier

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The original author of the antigay screed posted by Dave Agema has reportedly drawn on the work of a hard-core racist and anti-Semite.

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Dave Agema, the Republican National Committee member former Michigan state representative who has been roundly criticized for a recent antigay Facebook post, has drawn his "facts" about homosexuality from some extremely disreputable sources -- including a Holocaust denier, reports MLive.com.

Last month Agema posted an essay titled "Everyone Should Know These Statistics on Homosexuals" by a writer identified as Frank Joseph, a physician. The article is also available with footnotes on several right-wing websites, and one footnote credits a pamphlet called "Is Homosexual Activity Normal?" by Edward R. Fields.

Fields, reports MLive.com contributor Ken Braun in an article posted today, is identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a nonpracticing chiropractor from Georgia who is not only antigay but a white supremacist and Holocaust denier.

One "dubious bullet-point" the essay drew from Fields, Braun notes, is "The median age of death of lesbians is 45 (only 24% live past age 65). The median age of death of a married heterosexual woman is 79." Other "Fields facts" from the piece are "similarly outrageous," Braun reports, including "37% of homosexuals engage in sadomasochism," "60% say they have had sex with strangers in bathhouses," and "Homosexuals are 100 times more likely to be murdered."

"Having chosen to use the work of Dr. Fields, the author of the pamphlet Agema posted is -- at best -- a highly reckless and inflammatory hack whose drivel is nonetheless doggedly defended by an elected officer of the Republican Party," writes Braun, a political consultant and former legislative aide to a Michigan Republican lawmaker.

Braun joins a chorus of voices calling for Agema to resign his position as a member of the RNC, calls that Agema has so far resisted.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.