The candidate for lieutenant governor claims the label “gay” is defamatory but court precedent has long protected anonymous critiques of politicians.
Virginia Delegate Glenn Davis is asking a court to unmask the sender of an anonymous text message that called him gay. (Facebook image via Courthouse News)
NORFOLK, Va. (CN) A candidate for the Republican nomination in Virginia’s lieutenant governor race has asked a state judge to unmask whoever anonymously sent an unsigned text message to registered voters calling him gay.
In a lawsuit filed in Norfolk Circuit Court Tuesday, Republican Delegate Glenn Davis, who represents Virginia Beach, said a text message calling him a “gay Democrat” amounts to defamation. In a subpoena filed alongside the claim, he’s asking telecommunications company Onvoy, LLC, to share information that could identify the text’s author.