Gavin Ellzey, vice chairman of the Kansas GOP’s 3rd District Congressional Committee, resigned Wednesday night just hours after his tweet encouraging the offending of Muslims became the focus of news stories.
In a brief email to Clay Barker, the Kansas GOP’s executive director, and 3rd District chairwoman Vicki Sciolaro, Ellzey said he was stepping down immediately. “I feel that is the best for the GOP,” Ellzey wrote.
He sent the message at 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, about four hours after The Star posted a story about Ellzey’s comments on Muslims. In a tweet in early July, Ellzey wrote that “offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person,” and added, “especially with a .45.”
In an interview, the Overland Park resident said he had overreacted to news reports about Christians being “crucified” overseas. He said he had no intention of shooting anyone and did not own a gun.
See also “Tweet from GOP volunteer raising eyebrows”, KERO-TV 23, 7 August 2014
And “CAIR-Kansas welcomes resignation of GOP official over anti-Muslim comments”, CAIR press release, 8 August 2014