Rhode Island Capitol TV
- A Republican lawmaker asked a lesbian colleague if she was a "pedophile" on Friday.
- The comment was made during a Rhode Island State House hearing on an equity and inclusion bill.
- It was strongly condemned by LGBTQ advocates. Rep. Robert Quattrocchi said it was a misunderstanding.
A Republican lawmaker asked a lesbian colleague if she was a "pedophile" during a Rhode Island State House hearing on equity and inclusion on Friday, drawing widespread condemnation from LGBTQ advocacy groups.
The State House was at the time discussing HB 5763, a bill that would require all legislation submitted in the general assembly to include an "equity impact" statement on how it might affect "historically disadvantaged" populations.
During the hearing, Rep. Robert Quattrocchi, a Republican, raised his concerns that the bill was "very, very broad."
He asked Democratic Rep. Rebecca Kislak, the sponsor of the bill, if its introduction would mean legislators would need to take into account the impact on "Satanists on Rhode Island."
Quattrochi then proceeded to ask Kislak, who identifies as a lesbian, whether "pedophiles" would also need to be taken into account when exploring the equity impact on sexual orientation.
"First, I want to point out that pedophile is not a sexual orientation," Kislak responded, adding that it was "really offensive."
"Oh, I didn't mean to," Quattrocchi said. "Are you a pedophile? I'm sorry."
The response was met with a brief commotion in the House, prompting Rep. Evan Shanley to announce that the lawmakers were getting "a little off-track."
Kislak said that the interaction was an "example" of why the House needed to be discussing equity.
Janson Wu, the executive director of GLAD, a legal advocacy group for LGBTQ people, said the "offensive" comment comes at a time when the term "groomers" is increasingly being used as an attack against members of the LGBTQ communities, according to The Providence Journal.
Several LGBTQ advocacy groups signed a public letter condemning the comment on Tuesday. "Our representatives should be working to ensure safety, dignity, and equity for all residents, not perpetuating dangerous, false comparisons that undermine the humanity of LGBTQ+ people," the letter said.
Quattrocchi has not issued a public apology, but provided a statement to local media outlets calling the incident a "misunderstanding," per The Journal.
He also said in the statement that he had apologized to Kislak on "four different occasions."
Quattrocchi did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
According to The Journal, Kislak was unimpressed by the statement, saying: "It is not an apology."