A Republican candidate attacked two of the Parkland shooting survivors on Twitter, calling one a 'skinhead lesbian'.
Leslie Gibson, who has since deleted his personal Twitter account and made his candidacy account private, is the House candidate for Maine's 57th District, the Daily Mail reports.
On his account he tweeted that 18-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School pupil Emma González, who now campaigns for tighter gun control, is a 'skinhead lesbian', while also accusing her class-mate David Hogg of being a 'bald faced liar'.
In the tweet, he wrote: "There is nothing about this skinhead lesbian that impresses me and there is nothing that she has to say unless you're a frothing at the mouth moonbat," in response to an article about González.
He also posted to say that the teenage wasn't a 'survivor' of the attack which killed 17, because she was in a 'different part of the school'.
In response to an interview Hogg did with CNN in which he said NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch 'owns' congressmen, he posted that Hogg was "a bald faced liar. Dana Loesch 'owns' Congressmen? Completely absurd."
Adding: "Hogg doesn't get a pass when he blatantly lies."
Following the huge backlash after his comments, Gibson has since apologised, telling the Portland Press Herald because of his career in the military, he swore to 'uphold and defend the constitutions of the United States'.
He went on: "Because of this, I am very passionate about protecting our constitutional rights from those who seek their elimination. It was not appropriate to single out the Parkland students, but I stand firm in my defence of our constitutional rights."
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In a tweet towards González, he wrote: "I would like to extend to you my most sincere apology for how I addressed you.
"It was wrong and unacceptable. You are doing work that is important to you. I would like to extend my hand in friendship and understanding to you."
In a piece for Harpar's Bazaar, González describes herself as bisexual alongside a list of her interests, which she ended with: "but none of this matters anymore.
"What matters is that the majority of American people have become complacent in a senseless injustice that occurs all around them.
"What matters is that most American politicians have become more easily swayed by money than by the people who voted them into office.
"What matters is that my friends are dead, along with hundreds upon hundreds of others all over the United States."
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Source: Daily Mail; Harpar's Bazaar
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/PA