VIDEO: Sen. Eichelberger Refuses to Apologize for His Remarks Against LGBT When Delivered Apology Petition on Camera

Sen. Eichelberger, who currently submitted legislation that would ban same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania, recently offended thousands of LGBT people and allies with his horrendous remarks in a marriage equality radio debate on WHYY.org. In the debate, in which he attempted to counter Pennsylvania Sen. Daylin Leach and his bill for marriage equality, Eichelberger stated that society "allowed gay people to exist."

Below is a video of LGBT citizens and allies delivering him a petition with thousands of names demanding an apology.

Sen. "We Allow Gays to Exist" Eichelberger's Website Flagged by Google as "Attack Site!"

As Unite the Fight commentator Larry-Bob pointed out, Pennsylvania Sen. Eichelberger's website has been blocked by Google as an "attack site." The senator, who is proposing a bill banning same-sex marriage in his state, recently gained infamy for stating on a radio debate about same-sex marriage, "We allow gays to exist."



When looking into why the site was categorized as "suspicious," Google directs you to this page. See screen grab below:

So for it to be listed as such, it takes only one person to flag a site? I'm not much of a techie, so if someone can clarify for me what it takes for Google to categorize an "attack site", it would help.

If this is a tactic from our side, I don't agree with it. Whether or not we agree with the senator's words, our country protects the right to freedom of speech. Maliciously going after the senator's website, which serves many of his innocent constituents, is not the path that we should be taking to make a point. Actually, it does more harm than good.

If it isn't from us, then this raises many more questions. But it sure would be coincidental.

Sen. Eichelberger Issues Statement on His Quote "We're Allowing Gays to Exist."

In what has been coined, "One of the Best Marriage Equality Debates You Will Ever Hear," Pennsylvania's Sen. Daylin Leach, who has proposed a marriage equality bill for his state, and Sen. John Eichelberger, who has proposed banning same-sex marriage, argued their sides of the issue on WHYY.org. In the debate, Sen. Eichelberger, who struggled to support his argument without actual data and research said, "We're allowing the gays to exist."

In the news video below provided by NG Blog, Sen. Eichelberger claims his quote was taken out of context and states his issue with Keystone Progress, who has started a petition demanding he apologize for his comments.



His comment:

"This group is a politically active group that goes around the country targeting people that are involved in this issue. If this is an example of how they conduct themselves then it's difficult to continue dialogue and discussion if people intentionally misportray the truth."

I listened to the whole debate, which you can hear in full at WHYY.org, and Sen. Eichelberger struggled to stand his ground with the well-prepared Sen. Leach. Whether or not he meant it, Sen. Eichelberger did in fact make his offensive comments, underscoring the flaws of his position and proving, yet again, that opposition to same-sex marriage is based on discrimination and homophobia and not fact.

And don't get me started on his remarks about Keystone Progress twisting the truth when he's on record of doing that himself. How can one engage this man in an honest dialogue when he argues based off of hearsay, bigoted feelings and no facts?

Oh, and "misportray"? Is that even a word?

Once again, another politician decides to be on the wrong side of history. Do they ever learn?

"One of the Best Marriage Equality Debates" Between Two Pennsylvania Senators

Pennsylvania State Sen. Daylin Leach recently introduced a marriage equality bill that is countered by Sen. John Eichelberger and his bill to ban same-sex marriage in the Keystone State.

This week, they debated the bill on WHYY in Philadelphia and the result is being called "One of the Best Marriage Equality Debates You'll Ever Listen To."

Sen. Leach addressed all the ol' homophobic standby arguments that the right wing has used for years against LGBT, especially those surrounding marriage equality. Even better, Sen. Eichelberger exposed how truly a hateful homophobe that he is.

You can listen to the whole debate on WHYY.org.

Here's a bit of the transcripts thanks to Towleroad:

LEACH: How would he [Eichelberger] want to encourage stability in gay couples?

EICHELBERGER: I wouldn’t. I mean they can practice whatever sexual activity they like to practice, but there’s no reason to give them special consideration. We don’t give them special consideration in Pennsylvania for any reason. Why in the world would we allow them to marry?

LEACH: How would you encourage gay couples to be able to provide for their families?

EICHELBERGER: Well, I wouldn't.

LEACH: What would you expect of them?

EICHELBERGER: There is no reason to encourage that type of behavior in Pennsylvania...That comes back to the definition of family and that’s where we differ. We can call all kinds of things families. I mean, we can say a 3 party marriage is a family, or 7 or 8 people or marrying younger and younger children these days .

HOST: Are you saying that by their very nature homosexual relationships are dysfunctional?

EICHELBERGER: [Pause] Um. I guess I would say that. I would say that.

LEACH: Should our only policy towards [same-sex] couples be one of punishment, to somehow prove that they’ve done something wrong? Eichelberger: They’re not being punished. We’re allowing them to exist, and do what every American can do. We’re just not rewarding them with any special designation.

Eichelberger was asked about the children that were currently being raised in same-sex homes in Pennsylvania and what could be done to protect them. His answer: "Nothing."

Wow. Just wow. I can't fit the whole transcript on here, but Sen. Eichelberger is unreal. If you need fresh motivation to keep up the fight for equal rights, just listen to this guy.

ACTION: Keystone Progress has a petition demanding that Sen. Eichelberger apologize online.

PA Senator Eichelberger to Introduce Bill Banning Same-Sex Marriage

Pennsylvania State Senator John Eichelberger is announcing today his intentions to introduce a bill banning same-sex marriage in his state. According to the the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"Similar measures in the last two sessions of the legislature have failed. Pennsylvania law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. But Eichelberger and other proponents of the amendment say writing the ban into the constitution would prevent a judge from overturning the law. Opponents say the measure would enshrine discrimination into the constitution. Amending the constitution requires approval from both the House and Senate in two consecutive two-year sessions before the measure goes to voters for final approval in a statewide referendum."

The Philadelphia Daily News does a good job reporting on the chances marriage equality has in a state where the demographic is highly senior (third oldest state in the nation) and Catholic (not to mention Pennsylvania Amish and other "conservative, religious sects"), with these groups overwhelmingly disapproving of same-sex marriage. Thought the support is high among those 40 and under, the demographic shift has yet to mature.

"Clearly, Pennsylvania is among Alabama and Mississippi in terms of gay rights," Malcolm Lazin, the executive director of the Equality Forum, the gay-rights-advocacy group based in Philadelphia, told the Daily News.

"Lazin and other activists say that same-sex marriage will need to wait until the issue garners more local support and that their main priority is to promote legislation that will add Pennsylvania to the ranks of a majority of other states in offering full workplace protection to gays and lesbians," the Daily News reports.

ACTION! If you live in Pennsylvania, contact Sen. John Eichelberger through his homepage email form and tell him you disapprove!

If you have friends in Pennsylvania, especially LGBT allies, call them and urge them to contact their representatives with disapproval for this discriminatory bill.