Following the Orlando massacre, Chattanooga City Councilman Chris Anderson, who is openly gay, used his Twitter account to attack local politicians who he charged were responsible, in part, for the bloodshed.
He tweeted directly at a handful of Republican officials in the region, including Gov. Bill Haslam, State Sens. Bo Watson and Todd Gardenshire of Chattanooga, and Tea Party President Mark West.
.@BillHaslam In wake of the Orlando murders, do you regret your hateful attacks on the LGBT community and your incitement of this?
— Chris Anderson (@chrismanderson) June 12, 2016
.@MarkWest_TN You've been inciting violence against LGBT Americans for years. The Chattanooga Tea Party is built on it. Shame on you.
— Chris Anderson (@chrismanderson) June 12, 2016
Wondering what will win out today: Republican hatred for gays or Republican hatred for other religions. #BothAreWrong
— Chris Anderson (@chrismanderson) June 12, 2016
In tweets surveyed by the Times Free Press, some Twitter users skewed toward agreeing with Anderson's attacks. Like Anderson, some said that Republican values are antagonistic toward the LGBT community.
The Lt Gov of Texas (R) said that gay people need to die. THAT is the intolerance that @chrismanderson stood up to & I'm happy he did it.
— brad steiner (@bradstinks) June 14, 2016
@chrismanderson agree- TN republicans can't spout hate towards LGBT 1 moment then act like they care the next.
— Blake Wright (@TheBlakeTake) June 14, 2016
Chris isn't wrong. The Chattanooga Tea Party does indeed promote hate against the LGBT community.https://t.co/5TlxaYAAcn
— Benjamin Fleet (@benjaminfleet) June 13, 2016
@chrismanderson I say tell it like it is, brother. You speak out & you speak loudly. Just like every other decent American should be doing.
— Carey Parrish (@careyparrish) June 13, 2016
On Facebook, many comments turned against Anderson. Some commentators expressed disgust with Anderson's actions. Some called him unprofessional, given his position as a city councilman. Others found it to be in poor taste to jump into politics so soon after the attack.
Publicly, Anderson has defended his attacks in statements released to the media. His tweets are still available on his Twitter account.