State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe Touchy Over Men Touching Him

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA - Republican State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe of Cranberry asserted his heterosexuality Tuesday in an unusual exchange during a state House State Government Committee meeting.

When the committee’s ranking Democrat, Matt Bradford of Montgomery County, briefly touched Metcalfe’s arm while speaking to him, a clearly irked Metcalfe interrupted him.

"I'm a heterosexual,” Metcalfe said “I have a wife. I love my wife. I don't like men as you might so stop touching me all the time. Keep your hands to yourself. If you want to touch somebody, you have people on your side of the aisle that might like it. I don't."

Bradford, who is married and has four children, began chuckling along with several of his colleagues. “We are officially off the rails,” he said.

He then explained to metcalfe that he was attempting "to beg for your permission for about 30 seconds."

“Then beg,” Metcalfe said. “Don't touch.”

The conservative Metcalfe, who is in his 10th term, previously has condemned homosexuality as a sin and is adamant that marriage should only be between men and women.

Metcalfe’s remarks prompted the Pennsylvania Democratic Party to call for his resignation.

"For years Metcalfe has taken policy positions based on bigoted misconceptions and fear of minority groups and the LGBT community, but today he has gone beyond the pale," Brandon Cwalina, a party spokesman, said in a statement. "We are again calling on Daryl Metcalfe to resign and to apologize to all Pennsylvanians for his ridiculously bigoted behavior."

Photo: Pennsylvania House of Representatives.