Texas Governor Rick Perry, a
Republican, on Thursday said he “stepped in it” when he recently
compared being gay to alcoholism.
Last week, during an appearance in San
Francisco, Perry was asked whether he believes being gay is a
disorder.
“Whether or not you feel compelled to
follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide
not to do that,” Perry answered. “I may have the genetic coding
that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do
that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.”
(Related: Rick
Perry compares being gay to an alcoholic.)
At a lunch sponsored by the Christian
Science Monitor, Perry said that he should have answered the
question differently.
“I got asked about an issue, and
instead of saying, 'You know what, we need to be a really respectful
and tolerant country, and get back to talking about, whether you're
gay or straight you need to be having a job, and those are the
focuses I want to be involved with,' instead of getting – which I
did, I readily admit, I stepped right in it,” Perry
said.
Despite facing heavy criticism, Perry
has defended his analogy. During
an appearance on CNN's Crossfire,
he refused to say whether he believes being gay is a disease, like
alcoholism.
(Related: Jon
Stewart mocks Rick Perry; Says being a Texas Republican is a choice.)