Controversial radio host Rush Limbaugh
said Wednesday that he shares Elton John's view on gay marriage.
John made headlines earlier in the week
when he snubbed a boycott of Arizona and performed in Tucson. Gay
groups the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the National Gay and
Lesbian Chamber of Commerce are among the groups that called for the
boycott after state lawmakers approved an immigration law the groups
say will lead to “racial profiling, discrimination and
anti-immigrant extremism.” (A federal judge on Wednesday blocked
some of the law's most controversial provisions from taking effect.)
John said he was pleased to be playing
in Arizona and then called musicians honoring the boycott “fuck
wits.”
“Let's face it: I still play in
California, and as a gay man I have no legal rights whatsoever. So
what the fuck's up with these people?” the 63-year-old
singer-songwriter told the crowd.
Reports in the media went on to say
that the openly gay singer drew the ire of gay rights groups last
month when he accepted a $1 million paycheck for performing at the
wedding of Limbaugh, who has a long track record of demeaning
minorities, including the LGBT community. John entered a civil
partnership in the UK with filmmaker David Furnish in 2005.
Before playing a clip from ABC's The
View, where former Fox News anchor E.D. Hill (refereed to as the
“infobabe” by Limbaugh) is heard saying that John is “all about
the money,” Limbaugh says that he and John share similar views on
gay marriage.
“Elton John is not married to David
Furnish, and Elton John is not a supporter of gay marriage,”
Limbaugh tells his audience. “Elton John is on the same page as I
am, as is Obama on gay marriage. He's for civil unions, but he's not
for marriage.”
“Of course it had to be mentioned in
the story that Elton John played my wedding reception ... even though
I am 'vehemently anti-gay marriage and Elton John is married,'” he
said, then added, “He's not.”
While John's civil partnership is not a
marriage, the institution is looking more like marriage everyday.
The British government is considering
a proposal that would allow civil partnership ceremonies to include
religious elements, a main distinction between the two institutions.
And earlier in the year, the government lifted a ban on gay unions
in churches and other places of worship.