Bill James: Embarrassing Mecklenburg County With Anti-Gay Extremism For Over a Decade

Politicians have an uncanny ability to impact the reputation of their community. They are, in many respects, ambassadors for their cities, towns and counties at large. What a shame that for Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, they have the voice of Bill James speaking for them.

James, a Commissioner in the county that covers Charlotte, recently went on a tirade against the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," labeling all LGBT people "sexual predators" who would cause infinite amounts of harm to the U.S. military. He even sent his colleagues an email from his work account, letting them know this.

"Homosexuals are sexual predators," James said. "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.”

James wrote his colleagues because another council member, Chair Jennifer Roberts, was interested in sending a 'thank you' letter to the North Carolina Congressional members who supported repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." She clearly doesn't have James on board.

For James, this isn't the first time he's used his position as a County Commissioner to preach homophobia. As the fine folks at Pam's House Blend have covered for years, James is practically synonymous with anti-gay extremism. And his words do a great deal of damage to the overall reputation of Mecklenburg County.

Check out some of these nuggets that Pam's House Blend has collected from Bill James over the past several years.

"You really think that a pool of people (homosexuals) where 45% of them eat feces from the rear end of another male is 'normal'? If you do, you are frankly nuts," James wrote in a March 2005 email.

Then, after the County debated a domestic partnership bill, James called homosexuality a "crime against nature" and used an anti-trans slur on the floor of the Council.

As if that weren't bad enough, James told a colleague whose son died of complications from AIDS that the son was "a homo," and then compared homosexuality to alcoholism and a disease. He also said that all gay men who've died from AIDS brought the disease on themselves.

A real class act representing Mecklenburg County, huh?

County Commissioners could help rectify the damage that James has brought on their community by officially censuring him for his outlandish, offensive, and dehumanizing comments. That's what close to 1,000 people have officially called on them to do here, and it's also what the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is urging the Council to do, too. In a blog post that went up yesterday, GLAAD said that James' comments are doing significant damage to the national reputation of Mecklenburg County.

"It’s always terrible to see an elected official using his or her office to spread hateful and hurtful rhetoric about LGBT people," GLAAD wrote. "It’s inexcusable to call your colleague’s deceased son an anti-gay slur. It’s even more inexcusable to willfully spread misinformation about the lives of all LGBT people and claim that open military service will do anything but strengthen our national security by allowing all of the best and brightest to serve, regardless of who they are."

That's why the Mecklenburg County Council owes it to their constituents to check James' offensive and crude remarks. Elected officials shouldn't be bullying others, nor should they be rewarded for dehumanizing their constituents. James is a bully, and he brags about the dehumanizing tactics he uses to bash LGBT people. It's long past time he's held accountable.

Photo credit: City of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County