LONG BEACH : Councilman Rejects Call for His Resignation
Long Beach Councilman Douglas S. Drummond on Thursday rejected a call for his resignation after more than a dozen community leaders accused him of making bigoted statements about homosexuals.
“I have no interest in resigning,” Drummond said in a telephone interview from Wyoming, where he is on a hunting trip. “I have no intent to cause harm in any way to the gay community.”
Drummond, 56, made the controversial statements Sept. 21 during a talk before the Long Beach chapter of the conservative Eagle Forum of California.
During a question-and-answer period, he said he was not worried about gay activity because thousands of homosexuals are dying of AIDS, and because gays and lesbians do not reproduce. He also supported Cuba’s policy of quarantining people with the deadly disease and said it is “pitiful” that gays and lesbians are allowed to adopt children.
The councilman said Thursday that some of his remarks were intended to be sympathetic toward homosexuals.
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