Groups Demand DeMint Apologizes

Several womens and gay rights groups called on U.S. senator Jim DeMint to apologize for his reassertion last week that gay people and unmarried pregnant women should not be allowed to teach in schools.

DeMint made the comments in 2004 during a televised debate before he was elected, but referenced it again in a speech to the Greater Freedom Rally on Friday in Spartanburg, S.C. The Republican senator said he was seen as an outcast in Washington, D.C., for his remarks, but several people approached him to quietly express their support for him.

Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, told the Associated Press that DeMint should apologize.

"It is salt in the wound in our community," she said. "It's irresponsible for Senator DeMint to reassert this position in this day and age."

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, said DeMint was a "bigot, and a sexist, and he doesn't belong in the U.S. Senate."