Lobbyist / GOP Strategist to Draft Bill to Ban Out NFL Players

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A Washington, D.C. lobbyist, Republican strategist and former Fox News political analyst said Monday he is drafting legislation that would ban gay players from the National Football League.

The Hill reports:

"We are losing our decency as a nation," Jack Burkman of Washington mega lobbying firm Burkman Associates, LLC. "Imagine your son being forced to shower with a gay man. That's a horrifying prospect for every mom in the country. What in the world has this nation come to?"

The impetus behind Burkman's bill was the recent coming out of college All-American football star Michael Sam, a likely mid-round draft pick is poised to become the first openly gay player in the NFL.

"If the NFL has no morals and no values, then Congress must find values for it," said Burkman.

Although he doesn't mention any names, in his statement announcing plans for his "gays can't play" bill, Burkman said that he'd already assembled some political support for the proposed legislation.

Burkman is no stranger to anti-gay and conservative rhetoric. Last year, he was a vocal opponent on his Radio America show denouncing the Boy Scouts of America for even considering allowing gay scouts.

Shortly after announcing the bill, The Huffington Post discovered that Burkman's younger brother Jim is gay.

"I think the idea that he is pushing legislation that is just hurtful and ridiculous is just plain stupid," Jim Burkman to the Huffington Post. "He is not a legislator and he can't really push legislation. I don't think there are any cosponsors for a bill. It is just an attention grab and a media grab to pander to those folks who pay him to lobby on their behalf."

According to The Hill, Burkman's Burkman & Associates is the number one lobbying firm in Washington, DC. In 2013, the firm signed 70 new clients, more than any other DC firm.


by EDGE

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