Dave Agema, a former Michigan state
representative, fears the legalization of gay marriage would result
in increased hate crimes against opponents.
“If [gay marriage] were to pass
nationwide, I fear what kids would be taught in school,” Agema told
the Detroit
News. “If it's a government-sanctioned lifestyle, hate
crimes would begin for those speaking out against it, and we would
lose our freedom of speech. Then they would come to churches and
take tax-exempt status away from churches that didn't support the
lifestyle. That's what happened in other countries.”
In March, Agema grabbed headlines after
he posted on his Facebook page an article by Frank Joseph, M.D.
asserting that gay people are promiscuous, responsible for the spread
of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and that “many homosexuals
admit they are pedophiles.”
“[P]art of the homosexual agenda is
to get the public to affirm their filthy lifestyle,” the article
states.
The uproar included calls for Agema to
step down from his post as a Michigan Republican National
Committeeman.
Agema refused to back down, saying that
his comments against homosexuality were “really more about caring.”
“[I]f you really love somebody that's
in this lifestyle, you want to ask them and try to get them out
because they're not going to live as long,” said
Agema. “It's going to hurt them emotionally and physically.”
“That's what it's about. So It's
really more about caring than it is hate,” he said.
(Related: 57
percent support gay marriage in Michigan.)