Josh Hawley, the newly elected Republican Senator from Missouri heads to DC with some interesting baggage in tow — bringing anti-LGBT advocate Eric Teetsel in for a job.
As reported by Brad Cooper at Sunflower State Journal:
The head of the Family Policy Alliance of Kansas who helped push for passage of the faith-based adoption bill last session is leaving to join new U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
Eric Teetsel, the group’s executive director and the son-in-law of former Gov. Sam Brownback, started Thursday as a special assistant to Hawley. The senator’s office could not be reached for comment Friday about Teetsel’s hiring.
Teetsel continued to advance his agenda last year when, at the State Republican Convention, he put forward and passed a resolution indicating the Kansas Republican party would never accept transgender individuals.
Thomas Witt, director of Equality Kansas, summed up the issues surrounding Teetsel in this way:
Denying science and attacking schoolchildren in the name of religion is not a recognition of "dignity." This is a cheap election year attack by Sam Brownback's son-in-law, and yet another attempt to dehumanize those who do not fit inside the narrow world view of Brownback, his family, and his wing of the Republican party. Equality Kansas is incredibly disappointed that Kansas Republicans, on a day they should be focused on protecting children, promote such an undignified and crass assault.
Moderate Kansas Republicans found it so repellant that one — State Senator Barbara Bollier of Mission Hills — left the party and became a Democratic State Senator.
In the end, it was a variety of factors that led Bollier to switch parties, including a Republican Party resolution that opposed “all efforts to validate transgender identity.”
Josh Hawley, however, welcomed Teetsel into Missouri — and gave him an initiative, shaping family values.
Apparently, the new Senator from Missouri found his “values” — which include attacking, diminishing, and bullying members of the LGBT community with fearmongering and denigrating legislation.