The hypocrisy behind Brian Sims

As I watched and re-watched the videos of the two confrontations between state Rep Brian Sims and the pro-life protesters at the local Planned Parenthood last month, I had an epiphany; this wasn’t an anti-abortion story. It was obviously about abortion at some level, and I understand that this is in some ways as important for the Pro-Life movement as the bloody Gosnell saga. Anything that brings national attention to our decadeslong efforts to defend unborn human life is monumental.

But as I replayed the videos of Sims harassing an older woman and the teenage girls, I saw a man who was out of control, hostile and overtly threatening in tone. The emotion was palpable. And I had to remind myself that this was an elected public official.

Which led to my next thought: How would I react if this were not Sims but his prolife counterpart in the House, Darryl Metcalfe? To put it in a different context, how would I feel if the famously conservative state representative from Butler county filmed himself outside of an ICE office heckling immigrants? How would I react if I saw him yelling at an elderly woman to go back to her own country, or telling teenage girls from Guatemala that they didn’t belong here?

And that’s when I knew that the real problem with Sims isn’t so much his lack of respect for pro-life advocates (we’re used to that,) but his offensive treatment of his constituents, fellow Pennsylvanians who were exercising their legal rights under the law. So I did a little research into whether Sims’ own conduct broke any laws.

It’s not really easy to say that Brian Sims committed a crime when he yelled at the “old white lady” that she was engaging in racist activity, or when he offered to pay someone $100 for information about the identity of the three young teenagers.

Sims wanted to get the private information of those teenagers, and I’m not sure what he intended to do with it. The fact that he put a sort of “bounty” on their young heads is troubling.

Brian Sims is an elected official, and he misused his position and violated his ethical duties when he decided to intimidate private citizens. Two of those private citizens were minor children, ages 15 and 13. That, I would argue, raises the level of his conduct from unwise to egregious. It might also be grounds for censure.

Ironically, Sims is no stranger to the concept of censure, since he himself called for the censure of Metcalfe when the latter prevented him from speaking about same-sex marriage on the floor of the House back in 2013. If shutting down a conversation is censure-worthy, harassing old ladies and young kids would easily qualify for the same treatment.

If Metcalfe, or any other conservative politician had done what Sims had done, I’m certain his defenders would be clamoring for Metcalfe’s resignation. I’d be yelling right along with them.

And there’s the hypocrisy. Sims can wax eloquent about protecting “women’s rights,” but there are at least four women whose rights he ignored. And you know what else is hypocritical? The virtual silence of Democrats in Philadelphia, and in Harrisburg, concerning the antics and unethical behavior of one of their more outspoken members.

If this were, in fact, Metcalfe, you would have Democrats screeching at the top of their voices that he needed to be reprimanded, silenced, and forced out. As of this writing, they have been cowardly, and their silence is a deafening indictment of their collective character.

I went to the rally Friday outside a Planned Parenthood office that was triggered by Sims’ performance at the clinic. It was filled with women, young in their school uniforms, a little older with their children, older still and carrying signs about regretting their abortions, and the “old white ladies” that Sims derisively attacked.

I suppose I would fit into that category, and that’s why I raised my sign “Pro Life, Pro Woman” with pride. This was our own Pro Life #Metoo moment.

But as I said, this isn’t, in the end, about abortion. It’s about the disrespect that a white, gay, male, liberal, Democratic legislator showed for women who disagree with him.

Any fair person should question whether his actions justify criminal charges, make him unfit for office, or at the very least, demand a public reckoning.