Two NY state Democratic lawmakers apologize for posing with a sign comparing the 9/11 terror attacks to climate change

Two New York state senators have issued apologies after posing in front of a sign that drew a parallel between climate change and the 9/11 terror attacks.

Democratic state Sens. Robert Jackson and Rachel May both condemned the imagery and said that when they posed with the sign, they had not realized what it depicted.

The state lawmakers were photographed with a sign that featured an airplane labeled "climate change" pointed in the direction of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed as a result of the 2001 terror attack.

"I attended the rally today to support a significant investment in climate change in the state budget. I posed for numerous photos with activists, and did not see the content of the sign," May tweeted. "The imagery on the banner is unacceptable and I would never endorse such a cynical use of our state’s history to score cheap points. I apologize sincerely to all New Yorkers and call upon the organizers to similarly condemn this message."

"Today, I attended a rally in support of investments in addressing climate change. I posed for photos with many advocates standing at the rally, one of them a veteran of our nation holding up his banner," Jackson tweeted. "I did not note the details of the artwork and would never support anything that denigrates the memory of all who were impacted by 9/11. The artwork depicted is wrong and I fully reject it," he continued.

"As a NYC native who continues to be personally impacted by the events of that horrific day, I sincerely apologize to anyone who might be confused by any political ploy to mischaracterize my actions," he tweeted. "Indeed the only time I saw the banner in its entirety was on the minority leader's social media. There are two truths here: climate justice is not a political agenda and 9/11 can never be used for political points."

New York state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt slammed the two Democrats, claiming that they were "using a horrific attack on our Nation to advance their political agenda."