George E. Langdon IV, the New York county legislator from Albany who claimed that if we just put all gay people on an island together, they’d die out within decades, has resigned.
Langdon made the comments at a seminar called “Return to Liberty under the Constitution” at the faith-based Camp Pinnacle last week:
… Everything God does is sustainable. It’s sustainable! It goes on and on and on. It’s perpetual. Sorry, when you have homosexual relationships, it’s not perpetual. Give them an island, they’ll be gone after 40 years. Okay? Because they can’t… God created us to be this way! There’s so much common sense that needs to be applied to our policies, our procedures, the things that we do in our government…
Langdon seemed unaware that most gay people have straight parents…
He also issued a half-hearted “apology” on Thursday, shortly after this video began circulating:
“I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community and all others for the hurtful remarks recently made at a conference,” he said in a statement after the comments were shared on social media. “I have never been homophobic nor do I think any individuals should be placed on an island. I deeply regret my foolish off-the-cuff comment that has caused so much pain.”
“I commit to doing a better job of respecting diversity. I hope my years of past public service demonstrate genuine concern for all individuals. I will be taking time to reflect on how to best serve moving forward.”
As I said a few days ago, even if his remark was “off-the-cuff,” it wasn’t a gaffe. This was clearly something he’s thought about before. His Christian faith seriously teaches him there’s something wrong with LGBTQ people.
And now he’s stepping down from his position.
During the past several days, I have taken time to reflect and consider how to best serve our community moving forward. It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to resign my seat at the Albany County Legislature.
I again express my sincerest apologies to all those who were hurt by my rash and thoughtless statements. It was never my intention to single-out or target anyone. I truly believe every individual should have the right to life and liberty in their pursuit of happiness.
I’d like to thank all my friends for their unrelenting support, and my constituents for allowing me the honor of serving them.
Good riddance. Looks like the backlash was too overwhelming. (Do you know how awful you have to be to resign when you’re a member of a party that routinely caters right-wing bigots?)
Before anyone says it, this isn’t “cancel culture.” This is a rotten human being coming to grips with the fact that the one job he shouldn’t have is representing other humans in a leadership role. He’s free to express his hate in a conservative Christian church, where his bigotry is part of the package, but he doesn’t belong in government, where his genocidal fantasies could impact other people’s lives. No one will miss him in local government.
If he actually means what he says with his “sincerest apologies” — and I don’t know that he does considering he still hasn’t mentioned why his scenario makes no sense — then let’s see what he does from this point forward.
Will he just pop up in a few weeks espousing the same anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, or will he do anything to become a better person? I’m not assuming he’ll change, but he’ll have plenty of time now to think about his future.
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