slap on the wrist

Antigay state lawmaker ordered to apologize to child he kicked in the balls during homophobic tirade

Mark Samsel

Antigay Kansas state Rep. Mark Samsel was just sentenced to 12 months probation after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct charges stemming from a violent homophobic meltdown he had in a middle school classroom earlier this year.

In April, Samsel was caught on camera making inappropriate remarks while he was working as a substitute teacher at the school. In the video, he could be heard screaming about same-sex parents, suicide, masturbation, God, and “making babies.”

At one point, he chased a male student around the classroom, grabbing the child from behind, and, according to witnesses, kicking him in the groin before asking, “Did it hurt?”

Last month, Samsel announced in a since-deleted Facebook post that he had surrendered his substitute teacher’s license due to the “extreme stress, pressure and agitation” brought on by an “isolated episode of mania with psychotic features.”

“Mr. Samsel is very sorry for his actions, loves his community, and looks forward to moving on from this incident and continuing to represent his district in the Kansas Legislature,” his attorney, Christopher Scott, told reporters yesterday.

During his court hearing, Samsel apologized for his actions, telling the judge, “Your honor, I just want to say I’m sorry for what happened. I never intended to hurt anybody.”

In addition to 12 months of probation, Samsel was ordered to stay off social media and submit letters of apology to his victims.

Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.

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