Christian conservative and Colorado
House hopeful Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt found himself in
hot water over the weekend after he accused Colorado Rep. Jared Polis
of attacking Christians who oppose homosexuality.
Polis, an openly gay Democrat, is the
House sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which
seeks to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity. Polis recent trimmed down the
bill's religious exemptions in the House.
“The openly homosexual Congressman
Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced a revised bill to force Christian
employers and business owners to hire and promote homosexuals with
ZERO RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS for Christians who want to opt out,”
Klingenschmitt, the House Republican candidate for District 15 in El
Paso County, said in his Pray in Jesus Name Project
newsletter.
“Dr. Chaps' comment: The open
persecution of Christians is underway. Democrats like Polis want to
bankrupt Christians who refuse to worship and endorse his sodomy.
Next he'll join ISIS in beheading Christians, but not just in Syria,
right here in America.”
Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino,
who is also gay and a Democrat, criticized Klingenschmitt and the
GOP, saying Republicans had “squandered their credibility over and
over again with these kinds of over the top offensive remarks.”
In a YouTube video, Klingenschmitt
offered an apology of sorts, saying he had “used hyperbole.”
“Well apparently some Democrats do
not have a sense of humor and they were offended by some of the
things I said using hyperbole this weekend. So I want to issue a
personal apology to you Congressman Jared Polis,” he said and went
on to challenge Polis to the ALS Association's ice bucket challenge.
(The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)