Word - Shipp wreck

Syndicated political writer Bill Shipp, whose column appears in 60 Georgia newspapers, usually is the one writing the news. But Shipp recently made headlines of his own. During a May 20 appearance on the WAGA/Channel 5 political talk show “The Georgia Gang,” Shipp, whose politics tend to run on the liberal side, described gay marriage as “faggot marriage.” Gay rights groups are now calling for Fox 5 to end its relationship with Shipp, a regular guest on the show. “Georgia Gang” host Dick Williams says Shipp’s remark was supposed to be edited out, but producers accidentally played the unedited version.</
“Unhappily, I did use the words ‘faggot marriage.’ I attempted to be humorous, satirical and over the top, and I achieved only the latter.”</
-- Shipp, to CL</
“Mr. Shipp’s reference to calling us ‘faggots’ is clearly indicative of the way some feel about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Georgians. These are the same people who support spending over $100,000 to call our General Assembly back into special session to address an issue that is already illegal in the state of Georgia.”</
-- Georgia Equality Executive Director Chuck Bowen to CL, referring to a special legislative session called to reinstate Georgia’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage</
“[Georgia Equality doesn’t] understand that the statement was made by their strongest defender on the program. ... Whatever Bill tried, it didn’t work. But it was meant to antagonize conservatives.”</
-- Williams, host of “The Georgia Gang,” to CL