Pa. state Dem posts photo flipping off Pence as ‘official welcome’

A Democratic Pennsylvania state lawmaker welcomed Vice President Pence to the state earlier this week with a photo of him raising his middle finger.

State Rep. Brian Sims (D), who represents Philadelphia and is the state’s first openly gay legislator, posted the photo on Facebook with a preface of “OFFICIAL WELCOME” ahead of Pence’s Tuesday visit to the city.

{mosads}“To be clear, we’re a City of soaring diversity. We believe in the power of all people to live and to contribute: Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, Atheist, Immigrant, we want you and we’ll respect you,” Sims wrote in the post.

“So keep that in mind while you’re here raising money to attack more families, spread more lies, blaspheme with your bible, and maybe even talk to a woman without your wife in the room,” he continued. “We have plenty of them, and they’re pretty much all more powerful and more real than you have ever been.”

“So…get bent, then get out!” Sims added.

Pence traveled to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a fundraiser for GOP gubernatorial nominee Scott Wagner.

Hundreds of people came out to protest Pence during his trip over the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy that has been separating immigrant families at the border. President Trump signed an executive order to end the policy on Wednesday.

The vice president has faced criticism from the LGBTQ community in the past: As governor of Indiana, he signed the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, which advocates said could encourage discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.

And Trump once reportedly joked that Pence “wants to hang” all gay people.