Pa. lawmaker: opponent lying about being bisexual

A state House lawmaker seeking re-election in Pennsylvania reportedly said during a recent fundraiser that her opponent in a Democratic primary is lying about being bisexual to pander to LGBT voters.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, State Rep. Babette Josephs last Thursday told attendees at a Philadelphia fundraiser that her primary opponent, Gregg Kravitz, is lying “about a whole bunch of stuff, including his sexuality.”

“I outed him as a straight person,” Josephs was quoted as saying. “Now he goes around telling people, quote, ‘I swing both ways.’ That’s quite a respectful way to talk about sexuality. This guy’s a gem.”

In response, Kravitz said he’s sexually attracted to both men and women and found Josephs’ remarks offensive, according to the Inquirer.

“That kind of taunting is going to make it more difficult for closeted members of the LGBT community to be comfortable with themselves,” Kravitz reportedly said. “It’s damaging.”

Josephs also reportedly called Kravitz a “trust-fund baby” who had no discernible job history and was running for a seat because he was bored.

Known as a supporter of LGBT people, Josephs is endorsed by the Liberty City Democrats, an LGBT group in Philadelphia, and worked to block passage of a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage and to add sexual orientation to the state’s hate-crimes statute, according to the Inquirer.