A Republican was criticized for racist remarks in an opinion piece published by the GOP lawmaker's hometown paper and written by Virginia's Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi Friday.
In her op-ed for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hashmi, who is a Georgia native, called out Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) for his "vile, xenophobic, and anti-Muslim attack on his X social media account targeting Virginia state Sen. Saddam Salim, D-District 37. Rhetoric such as Clyde’s is never harmless; it perpetuates violence, scapegoats entire communities and is antithetical to the core principles of our democracy."
Clyde wrote the following on May 15: "Saddam Azlan Salim, who immigrated from Bangladesh, authored Virginia’s new unconstitutional gun ban. Attempting to naturalize those who hold beliefs that are incompatible with our Constitution is a recipe for disaster—in this case, disarmament. Denaturalize. Deport. Defend 2A."
Hashmi cited why Clyde's messaging was so damaging in the wake of a fatal shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego last week where two extremist teens had attacked a mosque housing a school with children and left a security guard and two community members dead.
"Rep. Clyde is not a constitutional attorney. If he were, he might know that citizenship in the United States is not treated as conditional based on partisan politics. We are allowed to disagree with one another on matters of policy without facing threats of deportation," Hashmi wrote.
She described how Salim, who Clyde spoke about in his social post, has focused on gun violence prevention and common-sense gun laws in Virginia.
"Why do I care what Clyde has to say about one Virginia state senator? I know that Clyde would never have made such racist and bigoted comments about the other state senator who was the actual author of the law (Senate Bill 749) that finally puts basic regulations around deadly assault weapons in Virginia," she wrote.
She urged Georgia voters to take a stance against Clyde in the upcoming midterm elections.
"I care about what Rep. Clyde has to say because his efforts to target this particular Virginia state senator harm all Georgians, my fellow Virginians, and our values as Americans," Hashmi wrote. "Clyde’s ugly rhetoric attempts to divide us and to scapegoat hundreds of millions of immigrants who are devoted to America and raising their children to be proud of both their heritage and this country — just as my parents raised me."