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A neighborhood New Jersey Democrat is facing calls to resign from her submit after she shared a meme on social media mocking Easter with references to drag and abortion.
“Easter eggs are aborted chicken babies that are painted in drag for small children to worship,” mentioned the meme shared by Glen Rock Borough Councilwoman Paula Gilligan on Instagram final week.
Gilligan confronted speedy backlash from members of the neighborhood, particularly Christians, who demanded she apologize and step down from Glen Rock’s all-Democrat, all-female council. Some are even planning to protest her actions on the borough’s subsequent council assembly on Wednesday evening.
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Paula Gilligan, a Democrat councilwoman in Glen Rock, New Jersey, shared this submit on Instagram mocking Easter with references to abortion and drag. (Instagram/Glen Rock Borough Council)
Gilligan later apologized in an announcement launched on social media and on the council’s web site, claiming her posting of the meme was supposed to specific her views on abortion and trans points, however notably made no point out of Easter.
“It has come to my attention that there are constituents in Glen Rock that have concerns with a meme on my personal Instagram story. The meme takes aim at the absurdity of ‘personhood’ laws,” Gilligan wrote, referencing numerous present and proposed legal guidelines in states across the nation dictating that fetuses have the identical authorized rights as an individual already born.
“It is my personal opinion that people have the right to control their bodies and their lives. My personal Instagram does not constitute the official views, opinions or beliefs of the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Glen Rock. To those who feel it mocks your holiday traditions, that was not my intention. Wishing all who celebrate a peaceful, joyous holiday,” she added.
Gilligan’s posting of the meme and subsequent apology got here simply weeks after residents of Glen Rock gathered on the native highschool cafeteria on Mar. 9 to stand in solidarity in opposition to antisemitism following a number of cases of vandalism across the borough that even attracted the eye of Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who condemned them.
Glen Rock’s mayor and different council members launched an announcement over the weekend apologizing to members of the neighborhood offended by Gilligan’s actions.
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Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on the American Zionist Movement / AZM Washington Forum: Renewing the Bipartisan Commitment Standing with Israel and Zionism within the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/MildRocket by way of Getty Image)
“We have been made aware of a post that appeared on one of our Council Member’s personal Instagram stories. This post invoked Easter, the holiest day of the year in the Christian calendar, in a point about two issues that have nothing to do with Easter,” the assertion mentioned.
“We all feel very strongly that everyone’s religious beliefs and traditions must be treated with respect. They should not be the subject of jokes or inflammatory social media posts. That is even more true when the social media post is made by an elected official, because we are here to represent and support all Glen Rockers of all religious beliefs and backgrounds,” it mentioned.
“We understand how important Easter and the symbols of Easter are to the many Glen Rockers who celebrate,” it added.
Gilligan has thus far not mentioned whether or not she is contemplating resigning and didn’t instantly reply to Fox News Digital’s request for remark. Fox has additionally reached out to Gottheimer’s workplace for remark contemplating his current robust stance in opposition to antisemitism.
Speaking with Fox News Digital forward of Wednesday’s council assembly, native Republican chief Barry Wilkes described his response to Gilligan’s mocking of Easter, and expressed hope that members of the neighborhood will present up en masse on the assembly to converse out in opposition to such rhetoric.
Barry Wilkes, an area Republican chief from Glen Rock, New Jersey and former state Assembly candidate. (Barry Wilkes)
“I’m a churchgoer, and I’m a believer. To see this the week before Easter was really troubling — troubling to the respect that it has absolutely nothing to do with what the holiday, what the holy day means. The resurrection of Christ has absolutely nothing to do with that,” Wilkes mentioned.
“What bothers me most, and the reason I’m involved, is because it’s very selfish when adults do these types of things because it only hurts our children. It confuses our children and makes it harder for them to figure out what’s going on, what the world is all about,” he mentioned.
Wilkes, a former candidate for the New Jersey state Assembly who’s contemplating his personal run for district chair, mentioned he was a part of a gaggle trying into launching a recall effort in opposition to Gilligan, and that he needed folks to present up within the a whole bunch for the 6:30 p.m. ET council assembly and the 8:00 p.m. ET query portion to present what sort of habits should not be displayed by an area elected official.
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“You want someone on a council who people look up to, who has answers for them, who you believe in because you voted for them and trusted them. To come out two weeks after the March 9th meeting and be divisive with something like this is just blatant hypocrisy,” he mentioned.
“I think betrayed is a good word,” he added.
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