Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich: People choose to be gay
Thu. December 15, 2011 4:13 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Des Moines, Iowa -
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said on Thursday that people can choose their sexual orientation, and compared being gay to being celibate.
Gingrich sat down with Des Moines Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich and covered a range of topics, including gay marriage and homosexuality.
He said that when it comes to sexual orientation, "people have many ranges of choices."
Can people choose to be gay? Obradovich asked.
"It's a combination of genetics and environment," Gingrich said.
Can people choose to be straight? Obradovich asked. That's when Gingrich brought up priests.
"Look, people choose to be celibate. People choose many things in life. You know, there is a bias in favor of non-celibacy. It's part of how the species recreates. And yet there is a substantial amount of people who choose celibacy as a religious vocation or for other reasons," he said.
Gingrich has also signed pledges to push for a nationwide ban on gay marriage if he is elected president.
He has a gay half-sister, Candace Gingrich-Jones, who intends to campaign for President Obama in 2012.
"He is definitely on the wrong side of history when it comes to those issues," Gingrich-Jones told Reuters. [I will] work really, really hard to make sure that President Obama is re-elected next year no matter who the Republican candidate is."
The Iowa caucus will be held on Jan. 3.
Gingrich sat down with Des Moines Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich and covered a range of topics, including gay marriage and homosexuality.
He said that when it comes to sexual orientation, "people have many ranges of choices."
Can people choose to be gay? Obradovich asked.
"It's a combination of genetics and environment," Gingrich said.
Can people choose to be straight? Obradovich asked. That's when Gingrich brought up priests.
"Look, people choose to be celibate. People choose many things in life. You know, there is a bias in favor of non-celibacy. It's part of how the species recreates. And yet there is a substantial amount of people who choose celibacy as a religious vocation or for other reasons," he said.
Gingrich has also signed pledges to push for a nationwide ban on gay marriage if he is elected president.
He has a gay half-sister, Candace Gingrich-Jones, who intends to campaign for President Obama in 2012.
"He is definitely on the wrong side of history when it comes to those issues," Gingrich-Jones told Reuters. [I will] work really, really hard to make sure that President Obama is re-elected next year no matter who the Republican candidate is."
The Iowa caucus will be held on Jan. 3.