Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) raised eyebrows Wednesday at an event in San Francisco when he drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism.
An audience member asked Perry about the Texas Republican Party’s recent endorsement of “reparative therapy” for gays during the governor’s appearance before the Commonwealth Club of California, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Perry responded that he didn’t know whether the therapy worked.
Perry was then asked whether he believes homosexuality is a disorder.
“Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that,” he responded, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle. “I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.”
That response “drew a murmur of disbelief” from an audience that included many Perry supporters, according to the Chronicle.
Perry made a similar comparison in his 2008 book “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For.” He wrote that even if homosexuality, though it may be genetic, was still an “active choice” akin to an alcoholic choosing to drink.
Rick may have the genetic coding that he’s inclined to be a bigoted idiot, even though he has the desire not to be.
He’s right in that anyone can choose to be celibate just as anyone can choose to never drink. But look at how many choose to be celibate and at how that works out for them. This clown didn’t choose celibacy for himself, did he? Why would he want to impose it on anyone else? And why should we allow him? (We won’t, of course.)
Why does a political party feel that medical diagnoses belong in its platform? Should the Dems take a stand on whether Uncle Jack really needs that triple bypass?
Being a poorly educated, pathetic jerk is also a choice, and not one most people admire.
You had the choice to name your hunting camp N********d.
Asshole.