Allen West: LGBT Workplace Discrimination Doesn't Exist

Rep. Allen West (R-Fl.) doesn't think that laws protecting LGBT workers are necessary because he says people are never fired because they are gay.

"That don’t happen out here in the United States of America," he told ThinkProgress.

West went on to explain that because he sits on the Small Business Committee, he knows that managers are concerned more about "onerous tax policy, regulatory policy, and lack of access to capital because Dodd-Frank is absolutely decimating small community banks."

It wasn't the first time West has made insensitive comments about LGBT rights. After Obama declared his support for gay marriage on Wednesday, West was quick to turn the announcement into a liability for the general election.

“I think it’s going to cause an incredible discussion in the black community, because, as you know, on Sundays in the black community the most conservative people in America are in those black churches,” he told ABC News. “I think it may have been a huge miscalculation, especially when you have 41 states that recognize marriage between one man and one woman, and you just came off an incredible loss to them."

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Caphillman]

11:56 AM on 06/16/2012

Allen West and James Inhofe are idiots!!! And by default so are the folks who elected them!

[Bill Kauffman]

09:12 AM on 06/05/2012

Gay men working for company bought out my a Morman company, within 2 months all Gay men working for former company are in unemployment line. West, wake up!

[l78lancer]

01:46 AM on 05/15/2012

Apparently West has not spent much time in black churches. Otherwise, he would know that the black church is not a monolith and the vast majority of blacks have not changed their views or opinions. For all you GOP haters and doubters, as well as the few blacks who refuse to believe anything other that the pastor said on Sunday, check the PEW stats in todays's Huff Po.

[l78lancer]

01:36 AM on 05/15/2012

"West went on to explain that because he sits on the Small Business Committee, he knows that managers are concerned more about "onerous tax policy, regulatory policy, and lack of access to capital because Dodd-Frank is absolutely decimating small community banks."
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Because surely if people were actually discriminating they would tell him. He has no sense of reality, or he believes his own lie that everyone else is stupid.

[ClayinLA]

10:20 PM on 05/14/2012

As a veteran, Allen West should be keenly aware of the inequality of gays in the workplace. Until this administration, gays either hid behind a mask of heterosexuality or faced discharged for their sexual preference. Is he really a fool or just portraying one for the far right?

[CurtT]

11:48 AM on 05/14/2012

And Iran doesn't have any gay people either...Wow - the GOP is taking cues from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

[WilliamCooke]

11:48 AM on 05/14/2012

Really? Not if the managers he's talking about are LGBT and can be harrassed or fired because of it.

[Tucker Walden]

09:09 PM on 05/13/2012

Wow! People on here are just friendly. I am amazed.

[Micheal Frisbie]

01:38 PM on 05/13/2012

Allen West Makes Extreme Claim - i hate to say it, but alien west is an extreme clam.

[stageplay]

12:55 PM on 05/13/2012

Allen West made an extreme claim, huh? That's all he ever does, so no surprise there. The guy is a true embarrassment for the state of Florida. Come on, Florida, you can do better than that, can't you?

[bootedb4]

12:38 PM on 05/13/2012

what difference does it make what sarah palin's 'rouge' choice for VP says..he is meaningless and inconsequential..even as much as she is too..he will never rise above his current pay grade..The haters rarely do...THey are good for only one thing...Creating large amounts of methane which pollutes the atmosphere...and poisons only those who believe their lies...

[Harleigh]

12:34 PM on 05/13/2012

“I think it may have been a huge miscalculation, especially when you have 41 states that recognize marriage between one man and one woman, and you just came off an incredible loss to them." So the grand wizard of color wannabe thinks Obama just recently lost 41 states? Westworld sure is in bagger turmoil today.Government jobs are all West has ever had so maybe that's another reason he is just not very bright or educated.

[hangr54]

11:55 AM on 05/13/2012

I wonder if Allen West realizes that although he obviously loves America and is an extreme conservative, if the shoe were on the other foot and he was president his Republican "good old boys" colleagues would turn on him in a heartbeat. If you really love America Mr.West. How about a little help fixing her.

[smp276dp]

11:31 AM on 05/13/2012

It's amazing to me. These guys sit high up perched on their seats thinking the world is so easy.
And he could give us proof of this chatter. Or is that all it is idle chatter?
The GOP has become sadly comical.

[Sisa]

11:16 AM on 05/13/2012

Howdy Doody.

[Victor Sweatman]

12:07 PM on 05/13/2012

O MY GOD!!! Thats it! that's where I've seen that face before!! Great post. F&Fed..