No one knows how to drop the mic better than openly gay Pennsylvania State Rep. and candidate for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Brian Sims–even when that mic gets cut off.
Earlier this month, the outspoken LGBTQ activist and crop top aficionado unleashed on Republicans when he spoke out against House Bill 118, otherwise known as the Unborn Child Dignity Act. The controversial bill, as some lawmakers have described, would make women either bury or cremate miscarried fetuses.
“This is just another act in a political theater that has plagued this chamber for far too long,” Sims said. “We are a legislature that has met more to remove mask mandates, strip executive emergency powers, and overturn free and fair elections than we have to make strategic investments in Pennsylvania’s women, children, and families.”
?? @PAHouseGOP leader has meltdown on House floor after it was raised that his caucus is 100% white in a chamber that is 70% male while pushing bills that hurt women's health, especially Black and brown women.
He had it stricken from the record then they shut down the floor. pic.twitter.com/xy1qwI8eYG
— J.J. Abbott (@jjabbott) June 9, 2021
Sims drove the dagger in further when he blasted the lack of diversity within the chamber. The bill, he said, was just another line item in “a grossly, predictably misogynistic agenda–an agenda pursued by a party that is 100% white, in a chamber that is 70% male.”
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House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, a Republican, then cut Sims’ microphone. “That’s enough,” he said amid booing from other GOP lawmakers.
Not that that stopped Sims one bit.
“Your boos mean nothing to me,” he said. “I’ve seen what you cheer for.”
(Can we get a “Hell, yeah?!?!”)
Of course, this isn’t the first time Sims has made headlines. In 2012, he was elected Pennsylvania’s first openly gay state lawmaker. In the years since, he’s been a fierce advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, women’s rights, the environment, and more.
He’s also used his platform to talk about PrEP, and the stigma surrounding its use.
“I’ve grown somewhat used to people making assumptions about my relationships and knew that if I was public about it, I might be able to help combat the stigma where that shaming comes from,” Sims told Plus Magazine of his PrEP use in April 2019.
“I have a platform and a voice that allow me, perhaps demand me, to speak up about issues that others may be ashamed or embarrassed of. This seemed like an obvious example of a time and a place where I should use that platform and voice.”
No matter what he’s talking about, Sims is proof that not all heroes need to wear capes. Sometimes a mic is all you need.
Watch Brian’s interview with LGBTQNation’s Juwan J. Holmes from the Pride50 webcast below.
Welcome to Queerty’s Pride50. We’re celebrating the members from our community who are responsible for some of the most inspiring and extraordinary moments for LGBTQ people over the last year. See all the honorees
Mandrake
This is one time I totally disagree with Sims. If it is a fetus( beginning of third trimester) that is miscarried, it means the unborn child has all the basic features of a baby in which case the fetus should be cremated or buried by the parents or the mother. I would think they’d want to, rather than throw it into the hospital incinerator or the hazardous trash bin.
canadiankid
Are you a damn fool mandrake? The answer is yes. Families now can decide to bury it, cremate it or decide the hospital can keep it and do what they do. The law is perfect the way it is and gives everyone the choice instead of FORCING this on people.
lather
Kudos to Sims for continuing to show integrity and understanding what choice actually means.
There is nothing stating women/families cannot choose to have some ritual after a miscarriage. This bill would REQUIRE them to do so. Why is it republicans cannot understand that choice means choice for everyone, not just when it is convenient for them. Oh, because they wouldn’t have anything to bitch about and rile people up about anymore.
Mr-DJ
Strike actual Sims FACTS from the record…? Wow…! You don’t even have to know who was making that request, to know 100% that the request came from a Conservative, which only served to prove Sims point even more. And like Sims said when the snowflakes booed him – ‘Your boos mean nothing to me. I know who you cheer for.’
Liquid Silver
I’d bring up why the strike request was made and why this is a great example of somebody trying to generate free publicity for his campaign (already showing signs of weakness amongst women and people of color). But we’ve already established that nobody really cares about facts around here.
As a Pennsylvanian, I’ll probably still vote for him, even saddled with that awful white male thing he has (shudder). He can’t possibly mess up worse than Wolf has.
Caddy4J
So agree with Liquid Silver, personally, I find him very annoying. Always yelling, like he’s mad all the time. On many subjects, sometimes he’s good, sometimes he’s bad. A lot of people aren’t afraid to speak about the issues, unfortunately, they don’t have a platform as you do. A no for me on Lt. Gov.