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Gov. Tom Wolf Calls On Legislature To Censure State Rep. Russ Diamond Over Statement About The 'Unmasked Community'

HARRISBURG (KDKA/AP) - Gov. Tom Wolf is calling on Republican House leadership to introduce a resolution to censure a state representative who says people are harassing him online for not wearing a mask.

"We need the Republicans to stop spreading misinformation to the general public, and we badly need them to be more responsible and more responsive to the health and wellbeing of all Pennsylvanians. This dangerous, reckless behavior is not welcome in Pennsylvania," Wolf said in a statement Thursday.

Lebanon County Rep. Russ Diamond, who has boasted on social media of shopping without a mask, on Wednesday released a nearly word-for-word parody of Dr. Rachel Levine's call for tolerance and acceptance of LGBTQ people, swapping out her references to "LGBTQ" with "unmasked."

Rep. Diamond's statement says that as pictures and videos of him without a mask are going around on the internet, "incidents of harassment and specifically hate and intolerance" against him have been "rampant" online.

Parroting Levine, Diamond said he wanted to "personally respond to the multiple incidents of harassment and specifically hate and intolerance directed at me" over his refusal to wear a mask, saying such attacks hurt "the thousands of unmasked Pennsylvanians who suffer directly from these current demonstrations of harassment."

A day earlier, Levine had responded to months of transphobic attacks against her by issuing a public plea for tolerance of Pennsylvania's LGBTQ community.

Diamond's parody drew the wrath of the Democratic governor, who called it "abhorrent, disrespectful, dangerous" and a "thinly veiled attack on the LGBTQ community" and Levine. Gov. Wolf demanded that GOP House leadership censure Diamond, who has helped marshal Republican resistance to Gov. Wolf's coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

"To equate any disrespect for those not wearing masks to the decades of disrespect, threats and violence against our LGBTQ community goes far beyond the hallmarks of a decent society. For these actions to come from a legislator elected to fairly represent all his constituents is simply unforgivable," Wolf says.

The governor also says "proud non-mask-wearers such as Rep. Diamond" aren't "displaying their freedom, but rather their ignorance and lack of respect for themselves, their families, neighbors and communities."

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Republicans are highly unlikely to heed Wolf's call. A censure — a formal expression of disapproval — carries no consequence, and House officials could not remember a time when House Republicans censured one of their own for anything.

Diamond, who said he had not been contacted by any member of House GOP leadership about his letter, responded to Wolf in a statement Thursday morning. He lashed out at Wolf's handling of pandemic restrictions and rehashed a litany of Republican grievances raised over the past four months.

"Abhorrent, unlawful, political and deadly. These are the words that describe my disdain for Wolf's actions, not just today but throughout the COVID-19 disaster emergency," Diamond wrote.

Wolf should fire Levine and resign, Diamond wrote. Levine and every other American can live as they wish, Diamond said, but Levine and Wolf should recognize that their policies — Wolf has imposed a statewide mask-wearing mandate like many other governors — "are creating similar hatred and intolerance across Pennsylvania."

Aides to House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre, said discrimination in any form is wrong. But they suggested it is not the GOP leadership's role to decide whether Diamond's actions are appropriate.

"Russ Diamond carries himself how he feels he needs to best represent his constituents. That's what his job is," said Cutler's spokesman, Michael Straub.

(TM and © Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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