CHARLOTTE — Gaston County state Sen. James Forrester (R), lead sponsor of the anti-LGBT constitutional amendment placed on the ballot for May 2012, has been accused of falsifying some of his medical credentials.
In an open letter posted at Pam’s House Blend this morning, contributor Scott Rose details efforts he made to reach out to the American College of Preventative Medicine and their response.
Forrester has claimed he is a fellow of the medical association. Officials at the group say he has never been a member and never a fellow.
“The quick answer to your questions is that Dr. Forrester is not, and never has been, a member of ACPM (much less a Fellow, which is our highest designation of membership),” writes Michael A. Barry, executive director of the group. “However, this is troubling to us, too, that he’s apparently claiming to be a Fellow of ACPM and we would like to know where Dr. Forrester is making these proclamations so that we can approach him and demand that he cease falsely using ACPM credentials in his campaign or wherever else he’s using it. If you can point us to some places where he’s using those credentials, we’d be most appreciative.”
Rose pointed the group in the direction of a Gaston County Republican Party web page containing Forrester’s bio in which the supposed credential was listed. Click here to see a screenshot of the page.
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The bio page is still available online and still includes the false information. The false information also appears on Forrester’s campaign website (screenshot). [Ed. Note — This story mistakenly claimed the original web page had been taken offline. This is not true. We regret the error.]
Forrester made waves earlier this week after appearing on Sirius/XM’s “Michelangelo Signorile Show,” in which he repeatedly refused to answer simple questions about claims he made on the lifespan of gay and lesbian people. The claims had originally been made at a town hall in Gaston County. The claims were later reported without refutation or fact-checking by Gaston Gazette reporter Wade Allen.
Forrester and his wife (more here and here), a longtime representative of the North Carolina chapter of Concerned Women for America, have been ardent advocates for anti-LGBT measures in North Carolina.
While in the North Carolina House of Representatives, Forrester was a lead sponsor of the state’s statutory Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. For the past eight years, Forrester has led the push for an anti-LGBT constitutional amendment that would ban marriage, civil unions and domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples.
The measure’s placement on the May 2012 ballot was approved by the legislature on Sept. 13.
