Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick pulled out a tired gay slur to describe Beto O'Rourke in a conversation with FOX News host Laura Ingraham.
Asked Ingraham: “What happened to this guy? Wasn't he a little more reasonable not so long ago? Was he always this left-wing?”
“He is so light in the loafers, he floats off the ground at times,” said Patrick.
Mediaite reports: ‘Since “light in the loafers” is a bit of an old-fashioned expression, Urban Dictionary defines the saying as “to be homosexual” or “refers to a male who is perceived to be gay or homosexual.”'
Ingraham, well-versed in the language of homophobia, picked up on the phrase: “When you said ‘light in the loafers' you just meant not consequential, correct? You didn't mean any pejorative?”
Replied Patrick: “No, no, no! He flaps his arms a lot. I meant light in the, he's a lightweight. He's flyin' up.”
Patrick has been an outspoken opponent of LGBT rights, telling Texas judges that they may refuse to marry same-sex couples, applauding the defeat of Houston's LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance HERO, defying Obama's direction to schools on transgender rights, leading the charge in Texas to pass an anti-trans bathroom bill, and even tweeting a Bible phrase – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” in the hours after the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre.
