Cape Lawmakers Call On County Commissioner To Resign

BARNSTABLE, MA – The majority of the Cape and Islands legislative delegation issued a statement Thursday calling on Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty Jr. to resign amid blowback from his tweet about gay politicians.

In a poll to his Twitter followers Tuesday, Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty asked, "Generally speaking, are gay politicians too self-absorbed and self-centered to adequately represent ALL of their constituents in a fair and equitable manner?"

The tweet was immediately met with criticism from his colleagues. Now they're taking it a step further, issuing a statement Thursday calling on Beaty to resign.

See also: Cape Cod Official In Hot Water Over Gay Comments

The letter accused Beaty of espousing "hurtful, bigoted, and juvenile commentary" and engaging in "boorish behavior to elicit reactions for his own amusement."

"Enough is enough," they wrote.

The letter was signed by six of the eight members of the delegation – Sen. Vinny deMacedo, Rep. Timothy Whelan, Rep. William Crocker, Rep. David Vieira, Rep. Randy Hunt and Rep. Dylan Fernandes. The lawmakers wrote they were coming to the defense of two of their colleagues – Rep. Sarah Peake and Sen. Julian Cyr – who are openly gay.

Peake and Cyr did not sign the statement.

Beaty previously said the tweet wasn't directed at any politician in particular, but he "had people make some statements to me in recent weeks" and wanted to see how people felt.