Missouri lawmaker won't resign over calls to radio show

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. � A Democratic Missouri state lawmaker said he won�t step down despite facing backlash for repeatedly calling into a radio program whose host has been criticized for comments denounced as racist and offensive.

St. Louis-area Rep. Bob Burns told reporters Monday he has no intention of resigning.

Missouri Democratic leaders, including U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, called on him to step down for calling in to Bob Romanik�s show on KQQZ-AM Radio.

Burns said online recordings were edited to misleadingly connect his comments to Romanik�s remarks. Burns said he spoke about veterans, not race.

Romanik said it�s wrong to portray Burns as agreeing with him on everything.

Burns said he �does not condone the rants or negative comments� of the host. He apologized for offending colleagues, friends and constituents.