Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on his latest effort to bring Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Sims to justice:
On May 7, the Catholic League contacted every member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. We sought their support for our call to censure Rep. Brian Sims for his unprovoked bullying and his vicious anti-Catholicism.
Sims not only harassed an elderly Catholic woman for praying in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Philadelphia, and on another occasion he became equally aggressive attempting to intimidate three teenage girls. He even offered $100 to anyone who would identify the girls, hoping to have protesters show up at their house to badger them.
On May 7, I sent a letter in the overnight mail to Rep. Frank Farry, Chairman of the Committee on Ethics, asking him to formally introduce a resolution calling for the censure of Sims.
Sims, who refuses to apologize—it is too late for him to do so now—is a radical LGBT activist who has a history of unethical behavior. He has been investigated for several instances of financial improprieties, ripping off the taxpayers to pay for his junkets.
His latest stunt is far worse. There is no place in public office for any person who bullies innocent women and girls for peacefully exercising their First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
Accordingly, we are now upping the ante, asking PA House members to support Pennsylvania State Republican Chairman Val DiGiorgio in his quest for a criminal probe. I am also writing to Philadelphia D.A. Larry Krasner asking him to launch a criminal investigation of Sims; such a probe is currently under review.
U.S. Senator Al Franken was driven from office after revelations of sexual misconduct. What Sims did was worse. Franken’s offenses took place before he was elected to the Senate—Sims committed his offenses while in office. Justice demands that no public official be permitted to get away with such obscene conduct.
Sims should not only resign, he should be investigated for his conduct. If found guilty, he should be given the maximum sentence. He is not a private person—he has violated the public trust by violating the Constitutional rights of four females, placing all of them in danger.
Contact Philly DA Krasner and ask him to investigate Sims: lawrence.krasner@phila.gov
