Tell Mecklenberg County, NC Board: Censure Anti-Gay Politician Who Called LGBT People "Sexual Predators"

By Michael Jones -

North Carolina had some shining moments this month, at least when it came to LGBT politics. Several members of its congressional delegation in the U.S. House, and both U.S. Senators from the state, voted in favor of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's ban on openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual troops.
The success of that vote prompted Mecklenberg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts to circulate a letter to her Republican and Democratic colleagues, asking them to sign on to a bipartisan 'thank you' note to these officials, for standing up for the principle of equality.
Only one Mecklenberg Commissioner didn't want to hear it. And he was all too pleased to let his colleagues know it.
"Homosexuals are sexual predators," Mecklenberg County Commissioner Bill James (pictured above, all the way to the right) wrote in an email to his colleagues, which was submitted to qnotes, an LGBT publication in North Carolina. "Allowing homosexuals to serve in the U.S. military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining U.S. military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to.”
It's only the latest outburst from James, who previously made fun of a colleague whose son died of complications from AIDS, who once said all LGBT shove gerbils and hamsters up their rectums, and who said that people of color "live in a moral sewer." Is this really a politician that the rest of Mecklenberg County wants representing them?
Urge the Mecklenberg Board of County Commissioners to officially censure James for his latest outburst. This can't be the national reputation that official in Mecklenberg County want to build for their community.

 petition text -

Censure Commissioner Bill James for Anti-Gay Comments

Dear Mecklenberg Board of County Commissioners,

I recently became aware of some alarming and very homophobic comments made by Mecklenberg Commissioner Bill James regarding the issue of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In emails sent to colleagues, James referred to gay people as "sexual predators" and suggested that the U.S. military would be threatened by showering with openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual soldiers.

These comments are only the latest from James, who has a lengthy track record of anti-gay comments, as well as racist comments made as a County Commissioner. While James is free to believe whatever he wants, it is deeply damaging for the national reputation of Mecklenberg County to have James saying anti-gay and racist remarks without any accountability. He is damaging your area's reputation with his words, and he should be censured by his colleagues for his comments.

Again, this isn't the first time James has said something bombastic. In previous emails from his work email, James has said that all gays are deviants, and once said that people of color "live in a moral sewer."

I recognize James is a colleague, but this type of language can't be left unchecked. It hurts Mecklenberg County to have someone so prominent saying things like these without rebuke. I urge you to censure James and condemn his anti-gay comments, which paint a very bleak picture of Mecklenberg County for the rest of the country.

Thank you for your time.

-end-