title:  NY Lawmakers Compare MMA Fighting To ‘Gay P*rn’ And Police Abuse
text: On Tuesday, the New York State Assembly passed a bill that legalized mixed martial arts (MMA), but it was the debate leading up to the passage of the bill that got the most attention. State lawmakers compared the sport to slavery and gay porn, the claims were so outrageous that former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman said he was  embarrassed for them. New York is currently the only state that bans the popular MMA sport and this was the first time the State Assembly has ever brought it to a vote, despite the fact that the Senate has passed it seven years in a row. So when lawmakers finally passed the bill, it was a big deal, unfortunately, it was overshadowed by a whole lot of stupidity during the debate.Sadly one of the most mindblowing comments came from a Democrat: I thought I should learn a little bit about (MMA),  said Assemblyman Daniel O Donnell (D-Manhattan), who is gay.  Well, I should really like it. You have two nearly naked, hot men trying to dominate each other. That s gay porn with a different ending. I m going to assume that O Donnell, the brother of actress/comedian Rosie O Donnell, was trying to channel his sister and be funny with his dissenting opinion, but he failed miserably. He wasn t the only lawmaker to make a crazy comparison, Assemblyman Charles Barron said it was like slavery and police violence: You know how we feel about the chokehold in New York City. You can put him in a chokehold and the ref has to be determining whether he got choked enough or she got choked enough. This (sport) is not something we should legalize or regulate. That s taking it a little far. MMA fighters know exactly what their sport is about;  Eric Garner, however, did not expect the NYPD to choke him to death when he sold loose cigarettes. Comparing a sport to systematic police abuse is outrageous and offensive.When asked about the lawmakers  comparisons, Chris Weidman said: Some of the things they were saying were so ridiculous that I was actually happy and embarrassed for them for even bringing it up. It s things I ve heard people behind closed doors might be saying, but to hear them say it live and to the public, I actually thought it was pretty interesting   and probably good for us. I just thought it was embarrassing on their part. I have to agree with him, the lawmakers sounded ridiculous. We expect Republicans to make outlandish claims when they are arguing against something, but when Democrats do it, it s even more embarrassing. We are smarter than that and frankly, they should both apologize for their crass remarks.Featured image via Steve Marcus/Getty Images