Troy Pastor: Mayor Daniels 'Needs to Apologize' for Gay Slur

When Rev. Robert Cornwall first read Troy Mayor Janice Daniels' on Friday, he immediately wanted to say something, but he bit his tongue.

For a day.

"This is troubling, and the reason why I’ve chosen to speak out not only as a person of faith, but also as a resident of the city of Troy who is concerned about the future of this city," Cornwall, who serves as pastor of Troy's , wrote in his blog on Saturday.

In the entry, he takes aim at Daniels' credibility and ability to do her job as mayor of Troy:

"Principled opposition to gay marriage is not the same thing as disparaging another human being because of their sexual orientation. I will not get into the politics of whether Ms. Daniels should resign over this, but I do think that it raises questions of character. I think it also raises questions about how she views certain members of the community, and whether she can represent them fairly."

Cornwall particularly took offense to Daniels' use of the word "queer."

"The use of the word 'queer' is a slur – it is meant to defame a person who is homosexual," Cornwall said in an interview with Patch. "As a Christian and a pastor, that bothered me, especially as one who embraces the idea that gay marriage is OK."

In a comment posted by Daniels Friday on Patch, she did not apologize for her Facebook post and wrote: "I firmly support marriage as being defined as between one man and one woman and I am not going to change my position."

To Cornwall, whose brother came out as gay to his family a few years ago, believing gay marriage is wrong and using a derogatory term to describe someone who is gay are completely different issues.

"A goodly number of American people support the idea of marriage between a man and a woman and oppose gay marriage, but that's different that using the word 'queer' to describe someone, and I'm concerned," Cornwall said.

"I'm concerned about the kind of leadership this particular person brings to our city and how she represents us, and how the worlds sees not only her, but our community."

Calls and emails to Daniels seeking comment on Friday and Saturday were not returned.