Mitt Romney has some explaining to do following a report from the Boston Globe that reveals the former Massachusetts governor failed to publish anti-bullying materials on the merit that they contained the words ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’.
At the time of distribution, then-Governor Romney said he had delayed the publication’s release due to the need for additional review. But last Friday, the Boston Globe reported the newssource had unearthed an email authored by a high-ranking Department of Health official which credits the delay of the publication for its gay-centric language.
“Because this is using the terms ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgendered,’ DPH’s name may not be used in this publication,’’ wrote the official, Alda Rego-Weathers, then the deputy commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, according to the Boston Globe. The newssource also said the “stifling the guide’s publication was among steps that Romney and his aides took during his last year in office to distance the Republican governor from state programs designed to specifically support gays, lesbians, and bisexual and transgender people.”
“Romney put his own political interests ahead of the safety of vulnerable youth,’’ said Don Gorton, a gay-rights advocate and author of the anti-bullying publication.
The publication was only one of many other blocked initiatives geared toward the gay community that the governor refused to pass in his state including threats to shut down the Gay and Lesbian Youth Commission after the organization issued a press release with his name on it promoting LGBTs. Romney also vetoed a $158,000 budget line item for counseling for victims of abuse in the LGBT community.
