Texas Gov. Rick Perry Says Being Gay is Like Being an Alchoholic

By Kat Callahan  |  June 13, 2014 | 12:32am
In Depth

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has such a history with bigoted comments, it’s almost hard to imagine Texas politics without them. While, Perry was selling California businesses on the value of moving operations to Texas and talking energy independence at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, the longest serving Texas executive ever decided to point out that homosexuality and alcoholism are totally the same thing.

Perry was speaking at the Commonwealth Club on Wednesday on the subject of energy independence. While I can’t see what this has to do with energy policy, someone asked the Texas Governor whether or not homosexuality was, in fact, a disorder. Maybe the Commonwealth Club is looking to harness LGBT fabulousness as a renewable resource? JUST KIDDING, Perry hates renewable resources as much as he hates gay people, whom he compared to alcoholics:

I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic. But I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.

Wait, wait. So, I think there’s a silver lining here. Did Rick Perry actually just maybe, possibly, presumably suggest that sexual orientation might be inborn and innate, potentially genetically determined? So now the moral failing isn’t in being gay (just like a moral failing isn’t in struggling with addiction), but rather just that even if we’re born this way, we have a moral obligation to ignore our natural desires? It’s… progress… I guess…

And frankly Governor, if my Democratic politics buddy, Glen Maxey, has anything to say about it, I’m probably not going to believe you when you say “I have the desire not to do that.” Remember, sir, I’ve spoken with you several times when I wrote for Austin publications, and I’ve kept up with Maxey. As my colleague John Cook over at Gawker wrote about Maxey’s book:

It’s all very anonymous and hazy and who knows if any of it is true. But the fact that this is coming from a fairly prominent Texas political figure brings it out of the realm of pure rumor and offers an engaging little glimpse into how your news sausage is made (or in this case, not made).

Perhaps Mr. Perry would like us to make the mental connection between alcoholism and homosexuality because we don’t typically blame the alcoholic for alcoholism, just for how one conducts his or her life with alcoholism. You know, just saying.

While Perry isn’t making homophobic remarks, he’s also in California trying to convince business owners to relocate to Texas, including pushing Sacramento-based Tesla Motors to build their $5 billion battery factory in Texas.

…wait, wait. Electric cars? Really? Maybe I’m wrong about Perry hating renewable resources. Just not so much about hating gay people.

Image via AP

 
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