Rep. James Comer (R-KY) slammed Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) on Wednesday for accusing some Republican legislators of being responsible for terrorism targeting the LGBTQ community.
The exchange between “The Squad” member and the Republican congressman came during a Congressional hearing on anti-LGBTQ violence in America. During the hearing, Bush charged, “The rise of hate and violence against the LBGTQ community follows a surge of anti-LBGTQ legislation driven by Republican state lawmakers including in my home state of Missouri.”
“In 2020, the Missouri state house introduced 23 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. They’re repeatedly — it’s absolutely disgusting — filed library book bans on doctor-recommended care, student organization bans, and sports bans,” she said. “Hate drives these Republican bills, which in turn drive dangerous hate and violence towards our LGBTQ+ community. In Missouri, my state, we have seen multiple hate-driven murders of our trans siblings in recent years as part of Missouri Republicans’ obsessive attack on trans and gay rights.”
Comer fired back by pointing out that Bush’s own community was full of violence.
“Crime is going to be a top priority for the Republicans on this committee in the next Congress, and perhaps Ms. Bush could come give us some pointers on how she’s reduced crime in St. Louis, since she’s been in Congress and what her ideas are to further reduce crime in St. Louis. But wait a minute. St. Louis has one of the highest crime rates in America,” he said.
Earlier at the hearing, in an exchange with Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Texas GOP Rep. Pat Fallon pointed out the dangers of ascribing violent acts to the rhetoric of one political side of the aisle.
“My heart goes out to you,” Fallon said. “What I want to avoid though, is to place blame on people that have a different political philosophy, because the vast majority — and I’m talking 99.99 and you just keep going of Americans — don’t want to harm anyone and don’t harm anyone. And to place blame on an ideology, and I think you said earlier, ‘Right-wing extremism’ … do you fear, Mr. Wolf, Left-wing extremism?”
Wolf replied, “Do you have an example of a left-wing extremist engaging in anti-LGBTQ violence?”
Fallon cited the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise by a Bernie Sanders supporter. “None of us blamed Bernie Sanders because he didn’t do it. Now there’s rhetoric on that side that could encourage very unstable people but unstable people are dangerous inherently.”
He pointed out that Scalise had a security detail that killed the shooter, adding that if Scalise had not been there, 15 to 20 members of Congress could have been murdered. He noted the shooter had asked the members of Congress, who were at the site for a Congressional baseball game. “Are you Republicans?”
“And when they answered, ‘Yes,’ that’s when the rifle came out,” Fallon noted. “The only person responsible for that shooting was that man and no one else.”
“The Pulse nightclub shooting, was that perpetrated by a ‘Right-wing extremist’?” he asked.
“The Pulse nightclub shooting was perpetrated by a man who pledged allegiance to ISIS,” Wolf acknowledged.
“I don’t think there are many ISIS members that are terrorists and also GOP voters,” Fallon replied.