A 45-second video clip of a Republican state lawmaker in Florida talking about hating homosexuals from the floor of the House is making the rounds, but the short clip offers precious little context.
State Rep. Jeff Holcomb is speaking in favor of a bill and was speaking about the “fair treatment of all.”
“ISIS, the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda. Those are the folks that discriminate,” he said. “We bombed a building in 2017 like we never usually do. We bombed it because they threw homosexuals off that building.”
“Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals more than we do,” he continued, drawing a gasp from at least one female lawmaker sitting behind him.
“They’re the ones that discriminate,” Holcomb continued. “Our job in the military, our Navy creed, ‘I am committed to excellence and fair treatment of all,’ that’s what we learned in boot camp, that’s what we drill into ourselves each and every day while we’re in boot camp. Please vote up on this bill.”
The footage was shared online by Carlos Smith, an openly-gay hard-left Democrat who previously served in the Florida House and lost his reelection bid in 2022.
Florida GOP Representative Jeff Holcomb says the quiet part out loud on the House floor today.
“Our terrorist enemies hate homosexuals MORE THAN WE DO.”
Audible gasping in the chamber.
And then there’s @RepSkidmore’s reaction. pic.twitter.com/ukH8EZmqL2
— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) May 2, 2023
It’s not clear what Holcomb meant by the “more than we do” remark. Did he misspeak? Was it a sarcastic response to persistent accusations Democrats have leveled? What is clear is that it conflicts with the rest of his remarks — not that this prevented those on the left who revel in victimization from pouncing on his words — careful not to include too much of his actual remarks.
Oddly, the story has garnered little media attention, outside of the left-leaning sites Huffington Post and Mediaite.
There was no mention of the story that could be found in Florida Politics, which prides itself on its thorough coverage of politics in the state capital, despite the outlet’s favorable stance toward the LGBTQ+ community. A search of the Tallahassee Democrat, the state capital’s hometown newspaper, turned up nothing.
As for Holcomb, he is a US Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer, according to his online profile, and deployed overseas to fight ISIS and was part of the Combat Operations Team planning daily air missions in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in intelligence studies at the American Military University.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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