During a House meeting held on February 6, 2019, Delegate Eric Porterfield of West Virginia compared the LGBT community to the Ku Klux Klan after refusing to pass a new bill.

Porterfield’s reaction during the meeting was just the most recent anti-LGBT statement he has made. According to him, the LGBT is “the most socialist group in the country” and the members “…do not protect gays. There are many gays they persecute if they do not line up with their social ideology.”

According to Belina Biafore, the Chairwoman of the West Virginia Democratic Party (WVDP), the state “…has no room for someone who expresses such hate.”

During a meeting with the local TV station WVVA, he was asked what he would do if he had a son or daughter who was gay. He responded “Well, I will address my daughter first. I would take her for a pedicure, I’d take her to get her nails done, and see if she could swim. If it was my son, I would probably take him hunting, I would take him fishing, then I’d see if he could swim.”

West Virginia Republican Party Chairwoman Melody Potter stated “These comments are unacceptable and we denounce them. They have no place in America.”

As of this moment, Porterfield remains a House Delegate.