ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York state senator has apologized for what he called a "poor choice of words" after sending a tweet to a legislative staffer urging her to kill herself.
Democrat Kevin Parker's tweet Tuesday morning instructed Republican aide Candice Giove to "Kill yourself!" It came after Giove took to Twitter to accuse Parker of misusing a Senate parking placard in Manhattan.
Parker, of Brooklyn, quickly deleted the tweet, but not before screenshots of the abusive message were circulated on Twitter. Parker later tweeted an apology to Giove, saying suicide should not be made light of.
Giove is a spokeswoman for the Senate's Republican conference. Messages were left with Parker's office seeking comment.
The Senate's incoming leader, Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said she was "disappointed" by Parker's tweet.
Meantime, Republican Robert Ortt from North Tonawanda issued a statement on the incident.
“Sen. Parker displayed reckless and damning behavior today when he instructed a Senate staffer to kill herself after she exposed his misuse of legislative privileges. This verbal assault over social media comes just weeks after he introduced legislation that would use social media posts to strip away our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights in his pursuit of disarming law-abiding New Yorkers. It is clear that Sen. Parker, who already has a history of violence and aggression, is in no state to serve as an elected official. At a time when 20 veterans a day commit suicide, tweets such as Sen. Parker’s should not be taken lightly, and I expect my colleagues across the aisle to hold him responsible for his comment.”
