GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain, appearing on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, said he feels being gay “is a choice,” and that if elected President, he would reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the former ban on openly gay military service members.
“I don’t think that anybody in this world wants to be gay considering all the vilification that is brought upon someone who is gay,” said co-host Joy Behar, who asked Cain: “Why would you choose that?”
“You show me the science that says that it’s not [a choice], and I could be persuaded. Right now it’s my opinion against the opinion of others who feel differently. That’s just a difference of opinion.”
When pressed, Cain later said he would govern according to the Constitution versus his personal opinion — even though moments earlier he said he would bring back the ban on gays in the military.
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“Herman Cain ought to apologize for his misinformed remarks, which show that he harbors dangerously outdated beliefs about gay and lesbian Americans,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “The lie that homosexuality is a choice is directly responsible for the suffering of tens of thousands of LGBT people around the world who are falsely told that they can ‘pray away the gay.’”