The main proponent of an effort to
amend Minnesota's constitution to ban gay marriage has deleted
documents linking gays to pedophilia and bestiality, the
Minnesota
Independent
reported.
The president of the Christian
conservative group Minnesota
Family Council on Wednesday defended the documents, which
first came to light Tuesday on the website GoodAsYou.org.
Tom Prichard told NPR that the
documents get “into the nature of homosexuality and homosexual
behavior.”
“The focus of this campaign is the
nature and purpose of marriage – not a referendum of homosexuality
per se, or its lifestyle activities and behaviors,” Prichard told
the radio network. “I would see that as a separate issue.”
After Minnesota lawmakers on Saturday
agreed
to put the amendment on next year's ballot, Prichard said he
hoped that Minnesotans could have a “respectful discussion” that
refrains from becoming “personal.”
In the documents, the group claimed
that gay people are more likely to be pedophiles, that being gay is a
choice, that gay men and lesbians eat human excrement (feces and
urine) and are not normal.
“The homosexual population includes a
disproportionate number of pedophiles,” the group claims in it's
“legislative manual.” “Many prominent homosexuals and
organizations have the stated objective to remove age-of-consent laws
from state statutes.”
“The social acceptance gay rights
laws give to homosexual behavior creates a climate in which
opportunities for homosexual behavior multiply.”
“Some homosexuals, especially
lesbians, consciously choose a homosexual lifestyle as part of a
political agenda.”
“Accepting homosexuals as 'normal'
victimizes homosexuals themselves. If a person has a disorder, it is
far worse to tell him that he is fine (and encourage him to blame
society for problems associated with his disorder) than to point out
his problem and offer a means of help.”
“What gay rights laws ask for is a
special privilege for homosexual behavior not generally available to
other groups identified by aberrant behavior – such as those who
commit incest, adultery, bestiality or pedophilia.”
The group also objects to
anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation and all forms of
legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples.