Carl Paladino, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, soundslike an old-school homophobe.
First, on Oct. 10, he said: “I didn’t march in the … gay pride parade
this year. My opponent did. And that’s not the example that we should be
showing our children, and certainly not in our schools. And don’t misquote
me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way. That would be a
dastardly lie. My approach is live and let live. I just think my children
and your children would be much better off and much more successful
getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them to be
brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or
successful option. It isn’t.”
The following day Paladino went on the Today show and dug in his heels,
telling Matt Lauer: “They wear these Speedos and they grind against each
other and it’s just a terrible thing. … Would you take your children to
a gay pride parade? I don’t think it’s proper for them to go there and
watch a couple of grown men grind against each other. I don’t think that’s
proper. I think it’s disgusting.”
In an Oct. 12 editorial, The New York Times called Paladino’s comments
“bigoted” and “shockingly irresponsible,” given recent anti-gay hate
crimes and the spate of gay teen suicides.
“A week before Mr. Paladino’s comments, police say three men in the Bronx
were tortured by a group of attackers who believed they were gay,” the
newspaper wrote. “On Oct. 1, Rutgers University held a memorial service
for a student who killed himself after police said his sexual encounter
with a man was broadcast over the Internet by two classmates. For Mr.
Paladino to choose this moment to make his utterly gratuitous remarks
suggests at the very least an extraordinary level of insensitivity.”
Later Oct. 12, Paladino issued a statement that said, in part, “I
sincerely apologize for any comment that may have offended the Gay and
Lesbian Community or their family members.”
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