Gates Town Supervisor and Republican Congressional Candidate Mark Assini is facing criticism by some prominent local Democrats and members of the LGBTQ community.
It has to do with comments written by Assini several years ago on a blog that he hosted, as he responded to comments posted by readers. Monroe County Democrats provided links to the blogs which had been taken down.
In one of them, Assini agreed with a reader who used the term "sexual deviants" and in another he quoted a pastor who called transgender people "mentally disturbed."
Rochester councilman Matt Haag was among the Democrats who held a rally today to condemn the remarks.
“I know many people of good faith and religious background who aren’t there on gay marriage, who aren’t there on a number of these things , but they would never use language like this to describe and to support their arguments that are deeply held religious beliefs,” Haag told WXXI News.
Assemblyman Harry Bronson is among those upset about the comments that were made and says people need to point out hate language when they see it.
“Regardless of your political affiliation, when someone uses language with a hateful view that gays and lesbians are sexual deviants or calls transgender Americans, mentally disturbed individuals, it hurts them it hurts our community and it hurts all of us,” Bronson said.
Assini says these comments were made several years ago, and says he is in a different mindset now.
“Ten years ago was a very long time and before marriage equality and now a lot of people including the psychiatric community, including the president of the united states including Hillary Clinton have evolved on this issue and so have I."
Assini also told WXXI News that,“I do regret having made those comments knowing what I know now, I was in a different place then, I opposed gay marriage; I struggle with it, but you know what the catalyst for me was really, when I started having friends and family members that were gay and I just became uncomfortable because I was judging them.
Assini faces Democratic Incumbent Congresswoman Louise Slaughter on the November ballot.
