THE DUP have faced criticism after a councillor appeared to like a tweet that described three Alliance MLAs as “two deviants and an enabler”.
MLA Paula Bradshaw had posted a photo from the annual Pink News event at Stormont alongside colleagues Andrew Muir and Eoin Tennyson, who are both openly gay.
The DUP councillor Stephen Moutray was reported to have liked the tweet containing the deviant insult, which also contained an image with text stating there was no such thing as transgender, only those who were manipulated by drugs or surgery.
Ms Bradshaw responded, stating she found the comments “really disappointing” and called on the DUP leadership to condemn it without response.
Mr Moutray has not responded to a request for comment.
Another online spat quickly followed, as the DUP’s south Belfast MLA Edwin Poots commented on the photo: “So it's left to a man to defend women's rights in South Belfast then,” with Ms Bradshaw replying with: “Not when it comes to women’s reproductive rights.”
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Earlier this month, Mr Tennyson had also accused the DUP MLA David Hilditch of trolling him on twitter with homophobic comments.
“For these comments to be made, in that type of language, by an elected representative is both particularly reckless and potentially very harmful,” he said, adding: “I hope Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will take this opportunity to publicly condemn the homophobic nature of these comments, and take the appropriate disciplinary measures against who was responsible for making them.”
Mr Hilditch later denied that he was homophobic when contacted about the matter.
