Tennessee congressman called ‘absolutely idiotic’ by fellow Republicans after vile antigay post

Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee posted a message on X on Tuesday declaring that "homosexuality has no place in America" before deleting it amid criticism from Democrats, LGBTQ+ advocates, and fellow members of the GOP.The Republican congressman published the message on Tuesday, the second day of Pride Month, adding, "Happy Nuclear Family Month." The post referred to a nonbinding resolution signed by Gov. Bill Lee in April that defines a nuclear family as "one husband, one wife" and their children. The backlash was immediate.Ogles later deleted the post and blamed a staff member, saying in a statement that he was working on his farm when his phone "began going crazy" over a post that he claimed was made by a member of his communications team."The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus," Ogles wrote, adding that the employee had been reprimanded. The explanation prompted skepticism from critics, who questioned how such a message could have been posted from the congressman's official account.Congressman Mark Takano of California, who serves as the chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and who is gay, sharply criticized Ogles.“America is beautiful because every person, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, is welcome here. Republicans turn to posting hateful garbage online because they have no real plans to solve problems for American families,” Takano told The Advocate. “I think Rep. Ogles’ explanation raises more questions, like what kind of people is he hiring that would have thought that tweet was a good idea in the first place? Whoever that staffer was clearly thought the tweet would fit Mr. Ogles’ voice because of his extreme anti-LGBTQI+ record.”The Advocate contacted Ogles' office seeking clarification about who posted the message, whether the staff member was disciplined, whether Ogles routinely approves posts published on his official accounts, and whether he believes gay Am