NYC Councilman from Brooklyn Chaim Deutsch has been under a relentless attack throughout the month of March for his alleged homophobia by GayCityNews.nyc, Shorefront News reported Monday.
Another Brooklyn-based New York City Council member, Kalman Yeger, has been under attack in March for his statement that there was no such thing as a Palestinian nation.
Deutsch, a Democrat, represents the 48th council district, which includes Brighton Beach, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park, Midwood, Plum Beach, and Sheepshead Bay. He leads the city council’s 14-member Jewish Caucus, and chairs the council’s Veterans Committee. In mid-March, NYC Veterans Alliance president Kristen Rouse, an out lesbian, wrote City Council Speaker Corey Johnson complaining that Deutsch is neglecting his duties on “LGBTQ inclusion.”
Did you know there were such duties? Check it out, it must be in the Constitution…
Rouse suggested Deutsch’s homophobia was evidenced by his “extensive history of anti-gay votes”; accused Deutch of directing homophobic comments at her; said Deutch refuses to work with the commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services (DVS), Loree Sutton, another out lesbian; and said he does not do enough to address the mental health issues of LGBTQ veterans.
“LGBTQ veterans must receive fairer treatment by Chair Deutsch,” Rouse wrote the speaker, citing a conversation in which Deutch told her “that he cannot be seen supporting the equality of LGBTQ individuals, even if they are veterans.”
Deutsch, who is Orthodox, represents a community that holds conservative views and frowns on the homosexual lifestyle. Rouse accused him of “inappropriate homophobic comments” and suggested “he and his constituents in southern Brooklyn do not support same-sex marriage.”
GayCityNews also expressed its concern that “notably, Deutsch still has not written any tweets or made any public statements explicitly supporting LGBTQ veterans.”
Deutsch has responded that he does work routinely with LGBTQ veterans and LGBTQ veterans’ advocacy organizations. Rouse has admitted that Deutsch has been “largely respectful” towards her and her constituency, and praised him for his part in organizing a rally against “bias, racism, and anti-Semitism” in early March. Still, she remains disturbed by the fact that Deutsch did not mention the LGBTQ community in his flyers and announcements about the rally.