Assemblyman Jim Wheeler
Assemblyman Jim Wheeler
*A Nevada assemblyman came under fire Monday after a YouTube video surfaced in which he told a Republican gathering he would vote to allow slavery if that is what his constituents wanted him to do.
"If that's what they wanted, I'd have to hold my nose ... they'd probably have to hold a gun to my head, but yeah," Assemblyman Jim Wheeler told members of the Storey County Republican Party at a meeting in August.
His comments were swiftly denounced by Republicans and Democrats alike.
"Assemblyman Wheeler's comments are deeply offensive and have no place in our society," Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said in a statement. "He should retract his remarks and apologize."
U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., called Wheeler's comments "insensitive and wrong," while the Assembly Democratic caucus said they were "reprehensible and disgusting."
Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, on Twitter said Wheeler's comments are "outrageous, they are embarrassing and they are just plain sad."
"It's time for Jim Wheeler to find a new line of work," Roberson said. READ MORE