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The phrase "Florida Man" is often followed by a description of some ridiculous situation that makes the rest of the universe's eyes roll so hard they see their own optic nerve.
A recent bigoted testimony by Mr. Greg Pound certainly lives up to that expectation.
Pound's testimony before the Florida House Appropriations Committee was so incredibly offensive that the committee chair, Republican Representative Travis Cummings, shut him down before he could finish.
Pound was giving testimony on a voucher program which provides funds to children who want to attend Christian schools, including those that espoused homophobic and transphobic beliefs.
He quickly veered into extreme bigotry during his testimony.
"Just a real quick question on the alphabet there. The L is for lesbians, the G is for gay, B is for bisexual, T is for transgender, Q is queer, and then P would be pedophile. Now, let me ask you this—where do these people get their children?"
The statement was so obviously offensive that GOP member and Trump supporter Representative Travis Cummings immediately shut down Pound's testimony and did not allow him to finish.
When Pound inquired as to why his testimony was being cut short, Cummings didn't beat around the bush.
"On what grounds? What's come right out of your mouth. It's offensive."
Florida man Greg Pound at yesterday's House Appropriations Committee meeting says LGBTQ stands for "lesbian, gay, b… https://t.co/Rmir2uu99n— Billy Corben (@Billy Corben)1582746003.0
Other members of the Florida legislature thanked Representative Cummings on social media for his swift intervention.
Budget Chairman Travis Cummings tells Greg Pound to end his testimony in committee after Pound refers to LGBTQ as "… https://t.co/7wG2uzrEzj— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨)1582666440.0
Now that’s MY budget chair 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼@Travis_Cummings https://t.co/iG291v6q59— Amber Mariano (@Amber Mariano)1582848005.0
Members of the public also thanked Representative Cummings, though some were reluctant to voice support further due to his less than stellar history on LGBTQ+ rights.
In addition to supporting President Trump and the GOP's generally anti-LGBTQ platform, Cummings voted against a 2015 bill that would have legalized adoption for same-sex couples.
@AnnaForFlorida @Travis_Cummings, thank you for speaking out on this. Just because a person is not of the “traditio… https://t.co/oOOjNEffIC— Jack Straw (@Jack Straw)1582717951.0
@CarlosGSmith @Travis_Cummings Thank you for leading the fight against homophobia in the legislature and the discri… https://t.co/dos2OB3yCT— Eric Jotkoff (@Eric Jotkoff)1582667922.0
Pound is fairly well-known for his inflammatory testimony at public hearings.
This is far from the first time he has disparaged the LGBTQ+ community during these rants. It's almost like he only comes to public hearings to show everyone how ignorant he can be.
Weird hobby, but you do you Mr. Pound.
While preventing Pound from spreading hate during his testimony doesn't erase Cummings' past votes on LGBTQ+ issues, he definitely did the right thing in this situation.