WHAT DID SCHU SAY?
Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer apologizes for calling homeless kids ‘retarded’ in interview that sparked backlash
CHUCK Schumer has apologized for calling disabled children "retarded" during an interview about homelessness.
The Senate Majority Leader, 70, said he was "sincerely sorry for his use of the outdated and hurtful language" after the comment sparked fury on Monday.
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Schumer's spokesman Angelo Roefaro said: "For decades, Sen. Schumer has been an ardent champion for enlightened policy and full funding of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"He used an inappropriate and outdated word in his description of an effort he supported that was led by the AHRC to build a group home in his Brooklyn district decades ago to provide housing and services to children with developmental disabilities.
"He is sincerely sorry for his use of the outdated and hurtful language.”
The AHRC was previously known as the Association for the Help of Retarded Children before dropping that title.
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Barack Obama signed a 2010 law which removed the offensive phrase “mentally retarded” from federal statutes. New York followed suit in 2011.
Schumer made the remark on Sunday during an interview after he was probed on building public housing.
The Democrat referenced his time representing Brooklyn in the 1970s.
He said: "I wanted to build when I first was an Assemblyman, they wanted to build a congregate living place for retarded children.
"The whole neighborhood was against it, these are homeless kids. They just needed some help."
Following the comment one Twitter user asked: "Ummm....what??? @chuckschumer, what were you thinking?"
Another wrote: "The party of inclusion."
One Twitter user suggested the comment reflected "the way dems see homeless kids and their families."
Another said: "It shows who he is."
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New York lawmaker Schumer had earlier spoken about funding for “mental health services” and “real mental health counseling.”
Schumer was speaking with host Saundrea who asked him about opposition to a building to help the homeless.
She said: "This initiative actually will house the homeless population that is actually living on our streets. We see them every day.
"We’re about to house them, and they’re against it. It’s unbelievable.”
Schumer replied: "Yeah, I mean it’s, I have found that my whole career.
"I wanted to build when I first was an Assemblyman, they wanted to build a congregate living place for retarded children.
"The whole neighborhood was against it, these are homeless kids. They just needed some help."
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Schumer had earlier spoken about the need for more mental health services.
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He said: "And then there’s one other issue with the homeless crisis, we need more mental health services, a lot of homeless folks have a you know, they have PTSD, because they’re veterans or something like that.
"But if you had some real mental health counseling, you could do some good there too."
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