Philly’s Malcolm Kenyatta calls for Republican Aaron Bernstine to resign over alleged homophobic slur
Kenyatta said that Bernstine's reported behavior "falls so far beneath what it must mean to be a member of the House of Representatives."
Democratic State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta on Friday called for Republican Rep. Aaron Bernstine to resign from the Pennsylvania House after he reportedly used a homophobic slur against Kenyatta, who is gay, earlier this week.
“Pennsylvania is better and bigger than this,” Kenyatta, who represents Philadelphia, said in a video message posted to X Friday.
He added that he’s calling for Bernstine, who represents portions of Butler and Lawrence Counties in Western Pennsylvania, to step down “not because I’m angry at him or because he hurt my feelings. It’s because his behavior falls so far beneath what it must mean to be a member of the House of Representatives.”
“And when you use language that demonizes people, that belittles people, it’s never about one person. It’s indicative of what you will do to anybody, and what he’d say about any Pennsylvanian,” Kenyatta said.
Along with the alleged slur, Bernstine also allegedly said in a Harrisburg bar earlier in the week that Kenyatta had lost weight, which Bernstine reportedly attributed to AIDS, according to PennLive.
Kenyatta was not present when the alleged remarks were made.
In his post, Kenyatta said he was “deeply grateful” to leaders of the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council “who stood up in real time.”
Michael Ford, the organization’s secretary/treasurer, overheard Bernstine’s alleged remarks and told PennLive, according to the news organization. Ford didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Addressing the incident in a statement Thursday, Bernstine said, “The allegations attributed to me are false. This is a political attack.”
After news broke, various legislative groups spoke out against Bernstine, including the Democratic National Committee, for which Kenyatta serves as vice chair.
“Hateful, homophobic, and racist attacks like this have absolutely no place in our politics, our communities, or our country,” DNC chair Ken Martin said in a statement.
Several Democratic lawmakers called for Berstine’s resignation. House Democratic leadership said it was “exploring potential next steps” and called on GOP leadership to hold Berstine accountable.
The Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus called the reported conduct by Bernstine, one of its members, “troubling,” and said it “does not comport with the values and professionalism Pennsylvanians expect of their state lawmakers.”
Bernstine has been the subject of controversy in the past.
In 2020, House Republican leaders called for Bernstine’s resignation after videos of him encouraging his young son to smoke and curse surfaced. Soon after, Bernstine was reelected, and the demands quieted.
Three years earlier, in the midst of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in which motorists were blocked, Bernstine posted on X, “If anyone EVER tries to stop my car on a highway with negative intentions... I will not stop under any conditions.”
On Friday, in concluding his remarks on X, Kenyatta suggested it’s time to move on.
“Let’s all in united voice demand better, demand more, and then let’s get back to work on the serious stuff,” he said.
