A Republican state representative is apologizing for calling LGTBQ sexuality "deviant" during a legislative hearing this week. The lawmaker, Dick Marston, said he never intended to cause offense, but said there is no excuse for what he said.
Marston said his lack of education about the LGBTQ community was what prompted what he says he now understands to be a hurtful incident.
Marston is in his third term in the House. He served in the US Navy and has been a ward moderator in Manchester. In his apology, issued through the office of the House Speaker, Marston noted that he is in his 80s but said his age was no excuse.
“Before I asked for forgiveness, in my heart I believed that I needed to improve myself and learn from this experience so it would not happen again and more importantly, I could educate others to be respectful of all people including members of the LGBTQ+ Community,” the statement read.
Marston also said he’s praying that people he offended can forgive him, but that he understood that some may not be ready. He added that what he called his “path towards redemption” is not over and promised to “guide others to being better people."
Marston’s original remarks came during a meeting of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, on a bill that would prohibit an alleged perpetrator from using a victim’s sexuality and gender identity as a defense to manslaughter. At the time, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Daryl Abbas, a Salem Republican, immediately rebuked Marston, banging his gavel to drown him out.
