It’s astonishing to me that any human being – even somebody as disgusting as New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino – could continue to spew heated anti-gay rhetoric in light of the recent string of LGBT suicides. It’s one thing, I suppose, to state opposition to same-sex marriage (though even that undoubtedly contributes to the problem). It’s quite another to do what Paladino did today – unleash an anti-gay tirade about how homosexuality isn’t normal and how children shouldn’t see it as an “option.” We know that this is what conservatives such as Paladino think. That’s no secret. But I just can’t fathom that this piece of shit decided that it would be a good idea, considering the very recent deaths of gay teenagers caused in part by the feeling that they weren’t normal, to proclaim that abnormality of gays and lesbians. Does Paladino want LGBT teenagers to kill themselves?
He made the comments to a Hasidic group at K’hal Adas Kasho synagogue in Williamsburg. Said Paladino:
There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual. That's not how God created us, and that's not the example that we should be showing our children.
He went on to say that he would veto a same-sex marriage bill if it reached his desk and that he opposes the “homosexual agenda.” He then said that children “would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family” than being gay. “And I don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option. It isn’t."
Great timing, asshole. Not that there’s ever a good time to spew forth bullshit like this in public, but it seems worlds worse in the context of what LGBT youth have been going through in recent weeks. This could be the next governor of the state of New York. And what’s his message for gay and lesbian teenagers? You’re dysfunctional. God didn’t make you that way. Homosexuality isn’t an "option."
Stunningly, this is the same guy who forwarded e-mails to people containing bestiality videos. And he has the audacity to use the word “dysfunctional” to describe other people?
Even more amazingly, Paladino went on to claim that he doesn’t wish any harm on gay people:
Don't misquote me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way – that would be a dastardly lie. My approach is live and let live.
Really? I might be inclined to believe him if, I don’t know, he didn’t just say that gay people are dysfunctional and that gay children shouldn’t believe that they’re normal. I can’t bring myself to think that Paladino actually believes what he’s saying. He can’t believe that he’s not hurting gay people by delivering anti-gay rants like this in public. He just can’t. Any intelligent person – and I think that, shitty as he is as a human being, Paladino is intelligent – can draw the connection between speech like this and gay kids wanting to kill themselves. Surely, by extension, he can also draw the line between rhetoric like this and vicious anti-gay hate crimes, like the torture that just took place in the Bronx, in Paladino’s own state.
Here's a video clip containing some of Paladino's comments:
As far as I’m concerned, Republicans like Carl Paladino have blood on their hands every time an LGBT person takes his or her own life. He may try to wash his hands by saying that he doesn’t want gay people to be harmed, but it doesn’t work that way. Words aren’t just words – they hurt, and they have consequences.
The Andrew Cuomo campaign, by the way, immediately released a response to Paladino’s comments:
Mr. Paladino's statement displays a stunning homophobia and a glaring disregard for basic equality. These comments along with other views he has espoused make it clear that he is way out of the mainstream and is unfit to represent New York.