Pa. lawmaker resigns from committees following alleged homophobic slur against Malcolm Kenyatta
Bernstine has previously denied reports that he used a homophobic slur in reference to the Philadelphia state legislator.
A GOP state legislator has resigned from all House committees of which he had been a member, days after allegations surfaced that he used a homophobic slur against State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia, who is gay.
State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, a Republican who represents parts of Butler and Lawrence Counties in Western Pennsylvania, resigned from the House Insurance, Intergovernmental Affairs and Operations, Labor and Industry, and Transportation committees. His resignation from the committees was announced at a House session Tuesday, as were his replacements on those committees.
In a statement, Bernstine said his focus was on “delivering results on the issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians” in the remaining days of the legislative session.
He did not say whether the allegations involving Kenyatta played a part in his resignation.
Bernstine previously denied that he had insulted Kenyatta, calling reports that he had used a homophobic slur in reference to his colleague a false “political attack.” He also criticized reporters who covered the story, saying elected officials should be scrutinized, but scrutiny was “not a license to publish falsehoods or omit critical context.”
PennLive first reported about the alleged slur Friday, with a reported witness telling the publication the incident happened at a Harrisburg bar last Tuesday. Bernstine also allegedly said Kenyatta, who was not present that night, had lost weight, which Bernstine attributed to AIDS, the outlet reported.
Kenyatta later called for Bernstine’s resignation from the Pennsylvania House, saying in a statement last week that such behavior “falls so far beneath what it must mean to be a member of the House of Representatives.”
Following Bernstine’s resignation from the House committees, Kenyatta issued a statement renewing calls for the GOP lawmaker’s full resignation. Stepping down from the committees, Kenyatta added, was “an important first step in accountability.”
“To every Pennsylvanian who has experienced hate, bigotry, or bullying, they should know they are not alone and that as a commonwealth, we are better than this,” Kenyatta said.
