New York City Council Speaker Christine
Quinn on Monday blasted GOP gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino's
anti-gay remarks.
Quinn, who is openly lesbian, told
MSNBC's Contessa Brewer that Paladino had “hurt people” when
he told a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn that his
opposition to gay marriage stems from not wanting children
“brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality” is acceptable.
Such speech, Quinn said, could be
directly linked to hate crimes.
“The thing about a hate crime – it
isn't targeted necessarily at that individual personally. It's
targeted at the community that the perpetrator believes or knows that
person is a member of,” she said. “So the crime is designed to
send out a ripple of hate to everybody in that community – that's
why it's such a cancer in our society.”
“Mr. Paladino's statements are
dangerous,” she added. “He can say he doesn't want to hurt
people, but he hurt people. He hurt people by saying that people
like me were brainwashed, or [are] brainwashers, by saying that my
family is less good than anybody else's family. He can pretend it
has no impact, but it has an impact even if you're an adult and it
certainly has an impact if you're a child.”