[Vision2020] The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin VI: Gays

[Saundra Lund]

The Atlantic
The Daily Dish
Andrew Sullivan
18 Oct 2008 05:27 pm

The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin VI: Gays

When the subject of homosexuality came up, Charles Gibson asked the
following question:

GIBSON: Homosexuality, genetic or learned?

PALIN: Oh, I don't -- I don't know, but I'm not one to judge and, you know,
I'm from a family and from a community with many, many members of many
diverse backgrounds and I'm not going to judge someone on whether they
believe that homosexuality is a choice or genetic. I'm not going to judge
them.

In fact, Palin does judge homosexuals in as extreme a fashion as you can
imagine:

Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert
gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer. "You'll be encouraged
by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those
impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the
Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has worshipped for about six years... She
opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples. Focus on the
Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the
"Love Won Out" Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

There is no way that a person who is indifferent to the question of whether
homosexuality is a choice or genetic can support a conference of crackpots,
psychological renegades and far-right Christianists seeking to "cure" gay
people. Palin is on record seeking to strip gay couples of all rights in
their relationships, although she was forced by constitutional mandate to
grant equal benefits to gay couples who are employees of the state
government in Alaska. She supported a non-binding referendum for an Alaskan
constitutional amendment to deny state health benefits to same-sex couples:

Ultimately, she said, she supports denying those [health and retirement]
benefits through a constitutional amendment, if that's what the public
wants.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-odd-lies-12
.html