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Cape Cod county commissioner under fire for tweet about gay politicians

BARNSTABLE, Mass. — A Barnstable County Commissioner is under fire for a tweet he sent implying gay politicians are unfit to serve.

Several Massachusetts politicians have called for Ron Beaty (R-Barnstable) to step down from his position after the controversial tweet sent Tuesday.

"I'm calling for Commissioner Beaty to resign, I'm that upset," said state Rep. Timothy Whelan (R-Brewster) told the Cape Cod Times. "I don't even know what else to say."

In the since-deleted tweet, Commisioner Beaty poses a poll question asking his followers if gay politicians are "too self-absorbed and self-centered to adequately represent ALL of their constituents in a fair and equitable manner."

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In the Times' story posted Tuesday night, several state representatives and senators called for Beaty's resignation with reactions of 'shock' and disbelief.

Beaty has previously made headlines calling for a culling of the seal population off Cape Cod in order to reduce the number of sharks in Cape waters.

“I pretty much only do what President Donald Trump does relative to his social media postings,” Beaty wrote in an email to the Times Tuesday night. “If it is good enough for our president, whom I support 100 percent, then it is good enough for me as well.”