North Carolina Rep. Paul “Skip”
Stam last week compared being gay to pedophilia.
Stam, a Republican and the House
speaker pro tem, objected to a gay-inclusive amendment introduced by
Rep. Susan Fischer which would prohibit state-funded charter
schools from discriminating against students on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity.
“Sexual orientation is not defined
anywhere,” Stam told colleagues. “I have here 30 different types
of sexual orientation.”
He distributed a flier which lumped
pedophilia, apotemnophilia (sexual arousal associated with an
amputee's stump), coprophilia (sexual arousal associated with feces)
and homosexuality under the heading “What Is A 'Sexual
Orientation?'”
Adding sexual orientation as a
protected class, Stam suggested, would also protect pedophiles.
According to The
Institute for Southern Studies, the handout has been used
extensively since 2007 by the anti-gay group Traditional Values
Coalition (TVC).
LGBT rights advocate Equality NC
criticized Stam, saying the incident was a reminder of why such laws
are needed in the first place.
“[I]t's important to understand that
Skip Stam's words represent not only an embarrassing display of
anti-LGBT rhetoric in North Carolina, but a clear and present
reminder of why these protections are so necessary – in our
schools, in our workplaces, and at all levels of everyday life in the
state we call home,” said
Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality NC.