Tennessee State Senator Stacey
Campfield on Thursday said it was “virtually impossible” for
people to contract HIV/AIDS through heterosexual intercourse.
Campfield is the chief sponsor a bill
dubbed “Don't Say Gay,” which would outlaw the discussion of
sexual minorities in Tennessee's public schools before the ninth
grade.
A last-minute amendment offered last
year by Republican Senator Kerry Roberts helped the bill clear the
Senate with a 20-10 vote.
The amendment strikes out language that
limited the discussion of sexual orientation to heterosexuality
before the ninth grade, replacing it with language that limits the
discussion to “natural human reproduction science.”
The bill is now being debated in the
House.
Appearing on Sirius XM's The
Michelangelo Signorile Show, Campfield said his bill would
allow children to concentrate on education and leave topics such as
sex to parents.
“I don't think that's the teacher's
job,” he said. “I think that's the family's job to do that.”
When Signorile asked, “What's harmful
about [homosexuality]?” Campfield asserted that “AIDS came from
the homosexual community.”
“It was one guy screwing a monkey, if
I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. … It was an
airline pilot, if I recall.”
“My understanding is that it is
virtually – not completely, but virtually – impossible to
contract AIDS through heterosexual sex. … [It is] very rarely
[transmitted vaginally],” Campfield insisted as Signorile denied
the claim.