Sam Trombley, the Majority Leader of
the lawmaking body of Clinton County, New York, on Wednesday warned
of an HIV epidemic in New York if a gay marriage bill is approved.
The Republican made his remarks during
a meeting of the Clinton County Legislature, the
Press
Republican
reported.
“I'm surprised the health department
has not come out against this because we are going to have an HIV
epidemic if this passed,” the Ellenburg lawmaker said.
“They [the health department] are
always complaining about tobacco and smoking, I'm surprised they
didn't say anything about this.”
Trombley, 74, went on to suggest gay
unions are unnatural: “You don't see two male dogs sleeping in the
same dog house together.”
“It blows my mind to think of it,”
he added.
Clinton County is wedged in between
Vermont on its eastern border and Canada to its north – a state and
a country where gay marriage is legal.
On Thursday, Trombley said he stood by
his remarks: “I've had a lot of calls from people thanking me for
standing up for this. We are in for a lot of problems if this
passes.”