Michele Bachmann, Republican candidate
for president, on Friday didn't deny that the family clinics run by
her husband Marcus Bachmann attempt to “cure” gay people of their
sexuality.
The Minnesota Congresswoman appeared
Friday night on NBC's The Tonight Show, where host Jay Leno
asked her about the allegations.
“Well, that whole 'pray the gay' away
thing,” Leno said. “I don't get that.”
While Bachmann attempted to dismiss the
question with a joke – “When I heard that I thought it was like a
mid-life crisis line, like 'pray away the gray.'” – she did not
deny that the clinics practice “reparative therapy.”
In fact, she suggested that not
offering the therapy would be discriminatory.
“The whole thing is with our clinic.
Whatever issue anyone has, we don't discriminate. If they come into
our clinic and somebody has an issue, our therapists deal with
whatever the issues are,” she said. “It's an ethics issue.
Whatever issue … we don't discriminate against people's issues.”
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
Mr. Bachmann has also claimed that his
clinic only offers “reparative therapy” to those who seek it.
Yet, an undercover investigation from earlier this year found
“ex-gay” minister Janet Boyne's book Called out on sale in
the waiting room of one of the clinics along with a typewritten note
from Mr. Bachmann: “Janet is a friend. I recommend this book as
she speaks to the heart of the matter and gives practical insights of
truth to set people free.”
(Related: Michele
Bachmann and Jay Leno disagree on gay marriage.)