Lawmaker who made anti-Asian slur is resigning, cites health
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware lawmaker who came under fire last year for using a racist and sexist slur to refer to sex workers is resigning, House Democratic officials said Friday.
Rep. Gerald Brady’s resignation will be effective Feb. 4, according to a press release from the Delaware House Democratic Caucus.
Brady indicated in the news release that he is not resigning because of the fallout from the racist email, but because of his health.
Brady, who served in the Delaware Army National Guard, said he lost most of his hearing as the result of deployments to the Middle East, and that he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Personal and professional challenges or other traumatic events can exacerbate PTSD,” Brady said in a prepared statement. “Recognizing the severity of this situation, I am taking steps to address these issues directly.”
Brady, who is executive director of the Delaware AFL-CIO, faced calls for his resignation last summer after inadvertently sending an email to an advocate for decriminalizing prostitution. Thinking he was forwarding an email from the advocate to another person from whom he was seeking input, Brady instead mistakenly hit “reply” and sent his comments to the advocate.
The advocate had referred to a Princeton University study indicating that the presence of strip clubs and other adult entertainment establishments in New York City led to a decrease in sex crimes. Researchers suggested that the reduction was mostly driven by potential sex offenders frequenting those establishments rather than committing crimes.
“Is the dude basically saying, if we provide free (oral sex) for Uncle Pervie there will be few rapes and few (a slur for Chinese women) will be shipped in CONEX containers to the Port of Wilmington??” Brady...