Daryl Metcalfe
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Daryl D. Metcalfe (born November 9, 1962) is an American politician currently serving in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
. Metcalfe is a member of the Republican Party and has represented the 12th legislative district since 1999.


Background

Metcalfe is a graduate of Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, New York, and he attended Kansas State University while serving in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
at
Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...
in
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. He later was stationed in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Metcalfe was employed with
Dade Behring Dade Behring was a company which manufactured testing machinery and supplies for the medical diagnostics industry, based in Deerfield, Illinois and Glasgow, Delaware (formerly a DuPont site). History Behring Diagnostics, a Frankfurt-based compa ...
(formerly DuPont Diagnostics) for 13 years as a field engineer.


Political career

Metcalfe was elected in 1998 to replace retiring representative Pat Carone. He has won re-election nine times. Since 2011 he has been the majority chairman of the House State Government Committee. Metcalfe ran as a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010. He came in third place in the Republican primary, losing to
Jim Cawley James Cawley (born June 22, 1969) is an American politician who served as the 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A Republican, he previously served on the Board of Commissioners of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Early life, ...
.


Committee assignments

* Environmental Resources & Energy, Chair


Political positions


Immigration

Metcalfe is the founder of State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI), an organization opposed to
birthright citizenship ''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contras ...
. The State Lawmakers for Legal Immigration works closely with the
Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a non profit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immig ...
(FAIR), an anti- illegal alien organization. On March 1, 2011, Metcalfe reintroduced HB 738, a bill which would direct police officers "to attempt to verify the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens." It would also create a new third-degree misdemeanor "for illegal aliens who violate federal law by either willfully failing to register as an alien or failing to possess proper proof of such registration when stopped for another primary offense, such as a
traffic violation A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...
," crack down on employers who hire illegal aliens without first checking to see if they had registration papers and are in the state legally, create a new third-class felony "for intentionally smuggling illegal aliens (into the state) for profit," and would allow police officers "impound any vehicle driven by an illegal alien or used to transport illegal aliens." The proposed law is based on
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
's Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070), which was passed in April 2010 and largely struck down as unconstitutional.


Environment

In October 2009, Metcalfe criticized Operation FREE, a coalition of veterans and national security organizations that advocates on environmental issues, by saying: "As a veteran, I believe that any veteran lending their name, to promote the leftist propaganda of
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in our economy, through cap and tax type policies, all in the name of national security, is a traitor to the oath he or she took to defend the Constitution of our great nation!" On February 19, 2019, at House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee informational meeting on Department of Environmental Protection, Daryl Metcalfe suggested that efforts to reduce CO2 emissions could deprive vegetables of the CO2 they need to grow. As chair of the Environment and Energy committee, Metcalf hosted an informational hearing in March 2019 to feature Gregory Wrightstone, whose testimony was at odds with the scientific consensus on climate change.


2020 presidential election

Metcalf participated in
attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, then-incumbent Donald Trump pursued an unprecedented effort to overturn the election, with support and assistance from his campaign, proxies, political allies, and many of ...
. After Joe Biden won Pennsylvania, Metcalfe unsuccessfully filed suit to decertify the result. The suit was based on debunked conspiracy theories and allegations of irregularities which had previously been dismissed by courts. Metcalf urged the legislature to override the state's result by appointing electors for Trump, an action state legislative leaders said they had no authority to do. Metcalfe additionally urged the legislature to intervene by issuing subpoenas to investigate the election process, and to impeach Governor Wolf.


Controversies and criticism


White nationalism

In September 2015, Metcalfe invited ProEnglish's Robert Vandervoora—a man with
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
ties and former head of Chicagoland Friends of
American Renaissance The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance ...
—to testify before Pennsylvania's state government committee. After facing criticism for his decision by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
, who called Vandervoora a "
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
", Metcalfe countered by arguing that white "nationalism" is not white "supremacy." Metcalfe's response drew praise from ''
The Daily Stormer ''The Daily Stormer'' is an American far-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, misogynist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and Holocaust denial commentary and message board website that advocates for a second genocide of Jews. It is part of the al ...
'', a white supremacist, neo-Nazi website. A GOP staffer reported that members of his own party were upset with his comments. "I believe white supremacists and white nationalists are synonymous and Daryl should repudiate both and their recent actions because I certainly do," Philadelphia Republican Representative John Taylor said after the controversy.


Gift ban

As Chairman of the House State Government Committee, Metcalfe has also drawn criticism for failing to hold a vote on a Republican-backed bill for a gift ban for state legislators.


LGBT rights

On December 5, 2017, Metcalfe strongly took issue with colleague
Matthew Bradford Matthew Douglas Bradford (born May 23, 1975) is an American attorney and politician. As a Democrat, he serves as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 70th district in Montgomery County. Early life Bradford wa ...
touching his arm while speaking to him, saying, "I'm a
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
. I have a wife. I love my wife. I don't like men as you might so stop touching me all the time. Keep your hands to yourself. If you want to touch somebody, you have people on your side of the aisle that might like it. I don't." Pennsylvania Governor
Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 gu ...
then urged house leaders to demote Metcalfe from his committee position, saying "I urge House leadership to re-examine whether it is appropriate for him (Rep Metcalfe) to continue controlling a committee that oversees civil rights legislation." Metcalfe opposed
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
's program to market the city to gay tourists. He tried to cut state funding to universities that offer domestic partner benefits. He sued a gay New Hope couple for attempting to get a marriage license. In September 2009, Metcalfe held up a Pennsylvania State Assembly resolution declaring October "
Domestic Violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
Awareness Month". Metcalfe claimed that the bill "had language in it that brought men into the situation", citing this as evidence of a “
homosexual agenda "Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. The ...
”. This met with criticism from Rep.
Babette Josephs Babette Josephs (August 4, 1940 – August 27, 2021) was a Democratic politician and attorney, who served 28 years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Josephs was first elected in 1984, representing the 182nd Legislative District, which ...
who said, "The gentleman from Butler has made this problem even worse and more men may be abused, even killed in their homes," on the House floor in 2009. In 2011, House Bill 1434 was introduced by Daryl Metcalfe along with 36 cosponsors on May 3, 2011. It was referred to the Committee of State Government. The bill would amend the state constitution stating to ban same-sex marriage and any substantial equivalent. On March 13, 2012, a committee vote on the bill was stopped. In 2013, Daryl Metcalfe reintroduced the bill with 27 cosponsors on May 7, 2013, which is the lowest number of cosponsors the bill had been introduced with. In June 2013, after the
Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
had been ruled unconstitutional by the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, openly gay state representative
Brian Sims Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician, activist and attorney. A Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 182nd district from 2013 until 2022. Sims is also a lawyer and advoca ...
tried to make a speech in the Pennsylvania House supporting the decision. Metcalfe, who was one of several representatives who blocked Sims from speaking, said, "I did not believe that as a member of that body that I should allow someone to make comments such as he was preparing to make that ultimately were just open rebellion against what the word of God has said, what God has said, and just open rebellion against God's law." In April 2018, Metcalfe caused a heavy backlash following a tirade on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
against Democrats in Pennsylvania's state legislature, which was called
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
, writing "I block all substantive Democrat legislation sent to my committee and advance good Republican legislation!" and "Liberals continue their lying attacks in an attempt to stop my work in defense of taxpayers and our liberty!" Metcalfe also targeted some Democrats by name, including former Representative
Leslie Acosta Leslie Acosta (born July 7, 1971) is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 197th House district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of former state representative Ralph Acosta ...
, and sitting Representatives Sims and
Matthew Bradford Matthew Douglas Bradford (born May 23, 1975) is an American attorney and politician. As a Democrat, he serves as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 70th district in Montgomery County. Early life Bradford wa ...
, labeling Acosta as a "convict" (as she had been under investigation for
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
), insulting Sims as a "lying homosexual" and calling Bradford "touchy-feely" following a widely publicized incident involving Bradford and Metcalfe in 2017. Sims responded by denouncing Metcalfe on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
as "a gaslighter who threatens people and then backs down and claims victimhood when you're called out", accusing Metcalfe of starting the conflict without justification. The head of the Pennsylvania branch of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
responded similarly by strongly condemning Metcalfe, heavily censuring him as "a partisan hack who abuses his power at the expense of making government better for Pennsylvanians" and "a disgusting human being."


Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting

Upon seeing student protests in the aftermath of the February 14, 2018 mass shooting in which 17 students and teachers were killed, Metcalfe cited his own experience in the army to criticize the students.


Personal

Metcalfe lives in Cranberry Township with his wife, Elke, and daughter, Lisa.


References


External links


Official web sitePA House profilePittsburgh Post-Gazette
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Daryl D. 1962 births Kansas State University alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Syracuse, New York People from Butler County, Pennsylvania United States Army soldiers 21st-century American politicians Military personnel from Syracuse, New York