The Christian conservative group
Minnesota
Family Council, which asked for a “respectful debate” on a
public vote to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage,
believes gay people are likely pedophiles and “abnormal.”
Minnesota
lawmakers on Saturday agreed to put the amendment on next year's
ballot.
If approved by voters in 2012,
Minnesota's Constitution would be amended to define marriage as a
heterosexual union, thereby banning gay and lesbian couples from the
institution.
After the vote, Tom Prichard, president
of the group – which has led the fight to get the amendment on the
ballot – said he hoped that Minnesotans could have a “respectful
discussion” that refrains from becoming “personal.”
But documents excavated from the
group's website by GoodAsYou.org
blogger Jeremy Hooper reveal Prichard's more likely approach.
In several documents, the group asserts
that gay people are more likely to be pedophiles, that being gay is a
choice and that gay people are not normal.
“The homosexual population includes a
disproportionate number of pedophiles,” the group claims in it's
“legislative manual.” “Many prominent homosexuals and
organizations have the stated objective to remove age-of-consent laws
from state statutes.”
“The social acceptance gay rights
laws give to homosexual behavior creates a climate in which
opportunities for homosexual behavior multiply.”
“Some homosexuals, especially
lesbians, consciously choose a homosexual lifestyle as part of a
political agenda.”
“Accepting homosexuals as 'normal'
victimizes homosexuals themselves. If a person has a disorder, it is
far worse to tell him that he is fine (and encourage him to blame
society for problems associated with his disorder) than to point out
his problem and offer a means of help.”
“What gay rights laws ask for is a
special privilege for homosexual behavior not generally available to
other groups identified by aberrant behavior – such as those who
commit incest, adultery, bestiality or pedophilia.”
The group also objects to
anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation and all forms of
legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples.