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Utterly heterosexual state Sen. Stacey Campfield of Tennessee is in the news again: This time for emails in which he told constituents who supported LGBT equality that they need to see a shrink.
Campfield first came under our radar in 2011 when he introduced Senate Bill O234, known officially as the Classroom Protection Act but nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill: It would bar teachers and administrators from discussing homosexuality to students up to eighth grade. It passed in the state Senate but thankfully died in House.
Alas, Campfield recently resurrected the dormant bill—this time it will essentially require teachers to out students to their parents.
As a result, one constituent, Jacob Wilson, was emboldened to write him:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
I am appalled at your thought of SB O234 and how it will protect children. I [used] to be proud to call Tennessee my home but after this I am not so sure. Your mindset is pathetic as well as this bill. I encourage you to change your mind or you will make a bunch of people very upset.
Imagine, if you have kids and one was gay, how this bill would affect them and you.
Campfield dutifully replied:
You seem to have some serious, deep anger issues. Have you ever thought about therapy? I hear they are doing some wonderful things with medications these days.
Yours in service,
Sen. Stacey CampfieldSent from my iPad
Wow, this guy’s a real Dr. Phil.
As bizarre as Campfield’s reply was, what’s more bizarre is that used the same response to reply to Telisha Arguelles Cobb, who used to live in the area of Knoxville Campfield represents, and allegedly others. According to the Tennessean, Campfield admitted the emails were his, but claims he doesn’t know how many people he responded to, and he refused to explain the identical wording.
He just knows he’s not backing down from the big gay bullies: “When somebody gets into insulting or cussing or something along those lines, it breaks down communication and is not respectful,” Campfield told TMZ. “I’m not their little piñata—I’m not going to put up with personal attacks.”
All together now: What a douche!
2eo
You mean like those women’s advocates who are campaigning for the right to choose what happens to their bodies and seeking to have control over their lives.
So you cut funding and put up massive obstacles.
Or does it not count as bullying when you systematically undermine the majority of the population?, or is it only when someone calls you on the suffering you willingly inflict on thousands every single day?
It’d be nice to know where humans stand when dealing with paedophiles and r@pists Stacey?
gppm1103
It’s almost like he is a closet gay man and this is a way to cope. Or he is just a corrupt politician trying to advance his career in a conservative state.
This guy is the one with “issues”.
Ken
Representatives, senators, delegates, and whatnot at the state and federal level get so much correspondence that it is not humanly possible to answer it all. They create set responses on common topics. Staffers read the incoming mail, decide which is appropriate, and send out the canned response. This is why the two got the same response. The staffers can keep statistics about how many letters are pro or con which issue, and which issues are most common. Sometimes a letter has to be escalated.
The letter reflects his sentiments, but it is entirely possible that a staffer worded it. I wrote a letter to a antigay politician about marriage, and got a response that hit the nail on the thumb. It was a diatribe that was on the general topic, but didn’t address anything in my letter at all. This isn’t odd at all.
Charli Girl
GAY GAY BIG GAY BIG GAY BIG GAY HOMO HOMOSEXUAL GAY BIG GAY
BAHAHAHA TRY TO STOP US,WE’LL COME TO YOUR-TOWN AND SHOUT IT JUST FOR YOU!!!!!
Dez
hm, I wonder why the gays would have anger issues? Couldn’t possibly be because of a-hole politicians like him actively trying to ruin our lives, could it?
And sex education is taught in middle school therefore education regarding sexual orientation should be taught along side that; it’s pretty simple!
MikeE
wait a second: he responds to someone expressing dismay at a law he is proposing.. by insulting them and calling them mentally ill… and then says that communication breaks down when people cuss and insult others? is this guy for real?
Chris-MI
@Dez: Ha, if you read the letter it appears to be from the straight parent of a gay person. All those parents who get mad when people attack their children? Medicate ’em.
erikwm
Someone should ask him if he’d be willing to take a lie detector test to prove he’s not gay.
Scoop
As a lifelong Tennesseean, I would like to say that he is an absolute embarassment to our state. I do not understand how he is re-elected.
1EqualityUSA
Hatreds are the cinders of affection. —Walter Raleigh
Billysees
@MikeE: 6
Lol…….lol…..
Good comment.
Aidan8
It’s okay to be Takei!
Chad Hunt
Seriously, How many of you foresee a scandal involving this guy, a male prostitute, a public bathroom, or an ex-lover.