Rep. Aaron Bernstine resigns from committees after allegations of using slur against fellow lawmaker

Pennsylvania state Rep. Aaron Bernstine of Lawrence County stepped down from his four committees and is facing calls to resign his seat after allegations that he used an anti-gay slur about a fellow lawmaker.

In a public statement, Bernstine said his focus is on tax cuts and skill games legislation in the remaining days of the session. He did not say whether the allegations prompted his decision.

Bernstine is accused of using the slur about Democratic Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta during a conversation at a Harrisburg bar. Kenyatta, who is openly gay, was not there. 

"This is not the first incident with him really comporting himself in a way that falls so far beneath what people should expect from elected officials generally, whether they represent your district or not, so I wasn't shocked by it," Kenyatta said. 

Bernstine denied the accusations and called it a political attack. Kenyatta has called the committee resignations a first step and is calling for Bernstine to give up his House seat.

"I do believe that Pennsylvanians, irrespective of party, do not want their elected leader spending all day engaged in the sort of bullying that you'd kick a kid out of your high school classroom if they were using that type of language," Kenyatta said. "You shouldn't be in the House of Representatives if that is the type of language you want to engage in." 

The leaders of Pennsylvania's legislative Black and equality caucuses have also called for Bernstine's resignation.