A committee meeting in Pennsylvania’s capitol was briefly derailed by a Butler County Republican lawmaker who asked a male colleague to stop touching him, suggesting the Democrat might be gay.
Representative Daryl Metcalfe said, “I don’t like men, as you might,” after Representative Matt Bradford placed his hand on Metcalfe’s forearm while he was trying to make a point during a meeting of the state government committee on Tuesday. The two were seated side by side at a conference table. Metcalfe went on to say “Look, I’m a heterosexual. I have a wife. I love my wife. I don’t like men, as you might. But stop touching me all the time. It’s like, keep your hands to yourself. Like, if you want to touch somebody, you have people on your side of the aisle that might like it. I don’t.”
A visibly stunned Bradford laughed and said the meeting was “officially off the rails.” Several colleagues could be seen erupting in laughter. The entire exchange was captured on video.
Bradford’s online biography says he has a wife and children.
Rep. Metcalfe told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in an interview on Tuesday that Rep. Bradford for months has been “continually reaching out and touching me,” and that he has asked him to stop. Rep. Bradford said that when he reached out to touch Rep. Metcalfe, he was simply attempting to “restrain him so I could finish my thought.” He was adamant to the paper that he was not making a pass at the Republican chairman.
“I have no idea what goes on in his head, and some days I’m glad for that,” he said.
