GOP leader ‘pausing’ social media after liking LGBTQ posts DeSantis sets execution for ‘ninja killer’ in 1989 murders
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ( AP) — Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced Monday that he is “pausing” all social media activity after revelations that he repeatedly commented on posts of nearly nude photos of a young gay model and other LGBTQ personalities.
McNally, a Republican, initially stated last week that he “had no intention of stopping” when pressed about why he repeatedly commented on racy social media posts by the 20-year-old. He later issued an apology, saying it was not his intention to embarrass his friends, family or members of the legislature.
However, the 79-yearold legislative leader has since received national attention — including being parodied on Saturday Night Live — with critics accusing McNally of being hypocritical. Particularly, McNally supported legislation restricting where certain drag shows can take place.
Some of the posts that have sparked the most uproar include commenting on a photo of the man’s backside, where he was wearing only underwear, saying “you can turn a rainy day into rainbow and sunshine.” McNally then
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, presides over the Tennessee Senate on the first day of the legislative session, in 2021 in Nashville, Tenn. posted a comment using only heart and fire emojis. In a separate post, McNally posted a heart emoji of the man pulling down his underwear.
“While I see now that I should have been more careful about how my comments and activity would be perceived, my intent was always engagement and encouragement,” McNally said in a statement. “For this reason, I will be pausing my social media activity in order to reflect and receive more guidance on the use of social media.”
McNally added while he may have made “some mistakes,” he disagreed that he had a record of being “anti-gay” and pointed to
his opposition of a 2020 law that assured continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if those organizations exclude LGBTQ families and others based on religious beliefs.
Yet McNally then pointed to his support of “traditional marriage” and support of bills that “keep obscenity out of the public sphere.”
“There is no contradiction here,” he said.
McNally, who is from Oak Ridge, became lieutenant governor in 2017. He has been a state lawmaker since the late 1970s.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of a 1989 double slaying in Florida for which he was dubbed the “ninja killer” is set for execution next month under a death warrant signed Monday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Barring delays on appeal, the execution of Louis Bernard Gaskin is set for April 12 at 6 p.m., according to the governor’s office. It would mark the second execution in Florida this year after a long pause dating back to 2019.
The execution would be only the fourth under DeSantis, a far slower pace than recent Florida governors — and ahead of his widely expected presidential campaign.
Gaskin was convicted of first- degree murder for killing Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on Dec. 20, 1989 in their Flagler County home on Florida’s northeast coast. He was also convicted of armed robbery, burglary and the attempted murder of another couple that same night nearby.
He was dubbed the “ninja killer” because he wore all-black ninja clothing during the crimes. Gaskin shot his victims with a .22- caliber rifle, investigators say. Property that he stole from the Sturmfels home — a clock, two lamps and a videocassette recorder — was found at his residence and were intended to be Christmas gifts for his girlfriend.
Local media reported at the time that Gaskin quickly confessed to the crimes and told a psychologist before his trial that he knew what he was doing.
“The guilt was always there,” Gaskin told him. “The devil had more of a hold than God did. I knew that I was wrong. I wasn’t insane.”
Jurors voted 8-4 in 1990 to recommend the death sentence, which the judge accepted. Florida law now requires a unanimous jury vote for capital punishment, although that could be changed this year by the state Legislature.
Gaskin, now 56, has filed numerous appeals over the years but by 2020 both the Florida Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the way for his death warrant to be signed, Attorney General Ashley Moody said in court documents.
The state Supreme Court set a briefing schedule for all filings in any new Gaskin appeals to be completed by March 31.