Lawmaker faces calls to resign after saying fellow legislator might be gay

A Republican state lawmaker in Pennsylvania is reportedly facing calls to resign after lashing out and insinuating a Democratic colleague who touched his arm during a meeting might be gay.

“Look. I’m a heterosexual. I have a wife. I love my wife. I don’t like men as you might, but stop touching me all the time,” Rep. Daryl Metcalfe said Tuesday after Rep. Matt Bradford placed his hand on Metcalfe’s forearm.

“Keep your hands to yourself. If you want to touch somebody, you have people on your side of the aisle who might like it. I don’t,” he said.

“We are officially off the rails,” Bradford responded.

Metcalfe’s words, caught on video, went viral.

When told about the Democratic Party’s call for him to step down, Metcalfe said he had no plans to resign, according to The Inquirer in Philadelphia.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday called on Republican House leaders to take away Metcalfe’s chairmanship of the House State Government Committee for making “offensive and discriminatory” statements.

“Unfortunately, this is part of a disturbing pattern of behavior. I urge House leadership to re-examine whether it is appropriate for him to continue controlling a committee that oversees civil rights legislation,” Wolf wrote on Twitter.

Metcalfe reportedly blasted Wolf for siding with the “perpetrator” and said he that he has asked Bradford to stop touching him before.

Wolf and Metcalfe share different views on social issues including sexual orientation, The Inquirer reported.