West Virginia Delegate John Mandt, Jr.’s Comments on LGBT Community Renew Calls for Fairness Act
CHARLESTON -- The comments of a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates on social media -- speaking out against possible non-discrimination legislation for the LGBTQ community -- have raised new calls for him to resign and the need for civil rights protections.
LGBTQ civil rights group Fairness West Virginia brought together Democratic lawmakers and advocates Tuesday in a virtual press conference to address remarks by Delegate John Mandt Jr., R-Cabell.
"This Is now the second time I've had to address this particular delegate for the words and hate that he has spewed on his social media," said Delegate Cody Thompson, D-Randolph and the only openly gay man in the House. "I see those words as pure hate, and I'm personally sick of it. I'm absolutely sick of working with people who do not value me as a person."
On Monday evening, members of the House Democratic Caucus released a statement calling for House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, and House Republicans to discipline Mandt.
"Bigots should not be serving in the Legislature, let alone sitting on powerful committees which directly impact the very people that Delegate Mandt continues to discriminate against," said House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio. "Republican leadership should immediately revoke Delegate Mandt's committee assignments instead of condoning his message of hate."
In a post on Facebook on Feb. 4, Mandt spoke about a bill expected to be introduced when the Legislature reconvenes today to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state Human Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.
Sometimes called the Employment Housing and Employment Non-Discrimination Act or the Fairness Act, the bill would prohibit hiring or firing employees or denying applicants housing based on their partners or how they choose to identify.
"It falsely claims to be a civil rights bill about fairness in employment and housing. But instead, it's nothing more than a wrongful appropriation of the civil rights movement to force a behavioral pattern into a legally protected class," Mandt wrote. "To even be discussing this topic during Black History Month does a disservice to those who legitimately fought to correct real discrimination against citizens with immutable traits like race, that they couldn't change."
"I found it quite appalling," Katanya Hart, third vice president for the West Virginia chapter of the NAACP, said in response. "To use Black History Month and the civil rights movement as a means to divide the people of West Virginia is just incredible and unbelievable...for him to speak on the civil rights movement in this way is just simply unimaginable."
Mandt accused LGBTQ activists in other states of using the Fairness Act to stifle the free speech rights of Christians and those who disagree with the LGBTQ community and lifestyle. Mandt also said the bill "ignores biology."
"It favors gender-confused males and it places our state's women and girls in harm's way, especially in intimate spaces previously reserved for females," Mandt said. "Once West Virginians understand what the bill really does, most Republicans and Democrats will whole-heartedly oppose the Fairness Act."
Last year, the Fairness Act was co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, and Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke. That bill, Senate Bill 270, was never taken up in committee. This year, Delegate Joshua Higginbotham, R-Putnam, is introducing a similar bill.
"I have multiple friends and family in the LGBTQ community who have experienced discrimination whether at work or in trying to rent a home," Higginbotham said. "Some have even left the state because of this. We need to do everything we can to keep our young people here and this bill is one such way to do that."
Mandt has made controversial comments before. According to the Associated Press, Mandt resigned from the House in October after screenshots were leaked showing Mandt using a gay slur in a private Facebook Messenger group. Still on the November ballot in the three-seat 16th District House seat in Huntington, Mandt came in third, winning by 71 votes. He chose to return to the House after November's victory.
Hanshaw sidestepped a question on whether Mandt would be removed from committee assignments last week during the West Virginia Press Association's Legislative Lookahead.
"I don't know what I can say other than Delegate Mandt does have committee assignments and they have been posted to the internet, so one can find his committee assignments on our website," Hanshaw said.
For the 2021 session, Mandt is the vice chairman of the House Small Business and Economic Development Committee. He also serves on the Energy and Manufacturing Committee, the Select Committee on Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse and the Senior, Children and Family Issues Committee.