We’ve all dealt with a Karen, Kevin, Richard recently. Whatever you want to call them, they’re the ones that apparently feel violated beyond belief and involve authorities over their temper tantrum of shallow nerves and over-exaggerated entitlement.
One of our family’s (LGBTQ) representatives in government recently had to deal with a “my feelings are hurt – I need to involve as many people as possible” fellow lawmaker. Or were the alleged threats vocalized? Hmm.
Pennsylvania Representative Tom Murt (Republican) decided to call the police after a phone call with fellow Pennsylvania state Representative Brian Sims (Democrat). Sims got a little heated in his mind and Murt feared for his and his family’s safety. Sims denied making threats over the phone and claims that the phone call and raised voices was about Murt allegedly “killing the effort to advance LGBTQ legislation.”
Murt apparently was confused about the subject matter of the phone conversation and believes that Sims was calling about the LGBTQ bill he had releases a memo about on Monday of this week.
We’ve seen Sims mad before and rightfully so. We know that he can raise his voice, be vocal, passionate, and spout some colorful words. In our post, Sims: “How Dare You Put Our Families at Risk and Pretend It Was About Looking Out For Your Own!”, we see just that.
So maybe Murt wasn’t being a Karen, Richard (Dick), Kevin. Murt’s full press release is at the end of this article, but here is bit where he mentions some of the alleged threats:
“In the past, Rep. Sims and I have been gracious colleagues and friends. He answered my call and he directly launched a verbal, hostile and threatening attack on me personally, using foul language, screaming at me, and stating that (in this order):
– ‘I will ruin you.’
– ‘You are finished.’
– ‘I will get you for this.’
– ‘I’m not done with you.’
He goes on in the press release about Sims’ behavior stating, “His language was so vitriolic, I walked outside with the telephone so my family would not hear his obscene language and his repeated use of the f-word.”
Sims denied the accusations of threats in a tweet, but that tweet has since been deleted. One news source states that the tweet read:
“LOL in my entire life I’ve never said these things to Tom or anyone else. I did make it abundantly clear to him that killing the effort to advance LGBTQ legislation in Pennsylvania with his weird campaign effort is something that I’d make sure advocates knew about. And they do.”
What is this all about? Timing, intent, playing with LGBTQ rights.
Murt co-sponsored a bill that is being labeled an LGBTQ Bill of Rights. In a memo released on Monday, the bill supports protections for LGBTQ people in the state, but it lacks inclusive civil rights and hate crimes legislation.
Some advancements are good, but Sims apparently brought up that there are only two weeks left for the Pennsylvania legislation to meet and pass a bill, which Sims feel is not enough, claiming that Murt and republicans are doing this all for show.
“When people pretend to care about equality legislation that they’ve had all term to advance, just in time for the elections, and not in enough time to actually advance equality,” – Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Murt feels that two weeks is enough time to write a bill. He stated that he and other lawmakers have drafted the bill with input from the LGBT community which addresses adoption rights, conversion therapy bans, hate crime language, and overall protections in public accommodations for LGBTQ individuals.
Upper Moreland police confirm that they are investigating the phone call incident but have not provided further details.
So who is in the right and who is in the wrong? We may never know about the phone call. Was Murt being a Karen or did Sims make threats? Will two weeks be enough time to get an LGBTQ positive bill passed? Will the bill be sweeping enough to make actual change happen?
Murt Statement on Threats from Philadelphia Colleague (link to original)
HARRISBURG—Rep. Thomas Murt (R-Montgomery) issued the following statement on his conversation with Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia) in which Sims threatened Murt after Murt issued a memo along with Reps. Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery), Pam DeLissio (D-Philadephia/Montogmery) and Wendi Thomas (R-Bucks) seeking co-sponsors for his legislation to create a LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights:
“On Monday, Aug. 3, at 9:30 p.m., Rep. Brian Sims sent me a text that was angry, enraged and wrathful, accusing me of treating LGBTQ+ rights as a ‘joke or a football.’ I immediately called him.
“In the past, Rep. Sims and I have been gracious colleagues and friends. He answered my call and he directly launched a verbal, hostile and threatening attack on me personally, using foul language, screaming at me, and stating that (in this order):
– ‘I will ruin you.’
– ‘You are finished.’
– ‘I will get you for this.’
– ‘I’m not done with you.’
“At that time, I did NOT know why Rep. Sims was so upset, nor did he explain it to me. I could only suspect that it might be about a co-sponsor memo I circulated earlier that day. In the past, Rep. Sims and I have worked together on LGBTQ+ issues, so I was not sure why he would have been so enraged about this particular bill.
“I said to him directly, ‘Brian, if you are angry about my LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights, because if it is – you know that I care about this issue as much as anyone.’ I also reminded him (through his yelling and screaming) that I have always treated him with the utmost of respect as a friend and a colleague.
“I asked him three separate times, ‘why are you attacking me and why are you so upset if we agree on this issue?’ He never answered me. I could not and did not further respond to him, as he would not stop yelling and screaming.
“His language was so loud and profane, my wife heard every word coming though the telephone. His language was so vitriolic, I walked outside with the telephone so my family would not hear his obscene language and his repeated use of the f-word.
“As I tried to get him to calm down, he only spoke louder and more belligerently, and continued to use the f-word repeatedly. Fearfully, I finally ended the call.
“I then called the Upper Moreland Township Police, who later visited my home. I spoke to an officer about what happened. I expressed to the officer that based on the actions and threats made by Rep. Sims, I was very concerned for the safety of me, my family and my staff.”
Representative Thomas P. Murt, Ed.D.
152nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives