W.Va. GOP chief rebukes delegate’s remarks on gay community

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The head of the West Virginia Republican Party has denounced comments from a GOP member of the House of Delegates about the gay community.

State GOP chairwoman Melody Potter says in a statement Mercer County Delegate Eric Porterfield’s comments were “hateful, hurtful, and do not reflect the values of our country, our state, and the Republican Party.”

Porterfield said last week he thinks LGBTQ groups are “socialists,” ”discriminatory bigots” and “a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan.” He also called the gay community a “terrorist group.”

Porterfield says he received threats after earlier remarks in a committee meeting in support of an amendment that would overrule local ordinances which protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination. The amendment failed.

Potter says “intolerant and hateful views hold us back, divide us, and hurt our state.”