An elected official in Mohave County,
Arizona has claimed that gay men have an average life expectancy of
42.
Mohave County Supervisor Ron Gould, a
former Arizona state senator and a Republican, made the claim in
comments to the Kingsman Daily Miner.
After he made the claim, the outlet
asked Gould whether he believes the low life expectancy was due to
the men's sexual orientation.
“That's why they die,” he
responded, according to the Phoenix
New Times.
“We all have our sins, but we should
try to suppress them. Alcohol is harmful, too, but we don't see
groups promoting alcoholism,” he added.
As a state senator, Gould actively
opposed LGBT rights, including backing a ballot measure that sought
to define marriage as a heterosexual union in the Arizona
Constitution.
Gould has been under fire over
anti-immigration comments made by a woman he appointed to a zoning
and development board. LaJuana Gillette made the racist comments in a
series of Facebook posts. Gould told the Daily Miner that he
would stand by Gillette and that he wasn't worried about her
“shooting up a Walmart,” a reference to the recent mass shooting
by a white supremacist who targeted Mexicans at an El Paso, Texas
Walmart.