Rep. James Forrester (R-NC), the primary sponsor of an amendment to the North Carolina constitution which would prohibit same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, recently gave an anti-gay speech at a town hall meeting in which he claimed that gays are "unhealthy" and have shorter lifespans than heterosexuals:
"At least 20 years is taken off a homosexual's life, if they practice homosexuality, due to the increased death rate from AIDS, and hepatitis, and all of the other related factors to that. That doesn't seem to discourage them from practicing this unhealthy lifestyle. I'm trying to talk with them. And I've got a few homosexual patients, and I treat them just the same as anybody else. I love them. Perhaps even more, because I know they're going to die at least 20 years earlier. We need to reach out to them and try to get them to change their lifestyle back to the normal lifestyle which we can accept. It's a new day in Raleigh. This could really make a mark on society as we know it."
However, in spite of the audience giving Forrester a standing ovation and his assurances that his marriage amendment will pass, 57% of North Carolinians support same-sex marriage or civil unions according to a recent Elon University Poll.
No comments:
Post a Comment