Former Republican
presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee dropped by Jon
Stewart's Daily Show Tuesday to promote his
new book, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement
That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America.
In the book
Huckabee states that all people are created equal. But when
talk turned to the subject of gay marriage, Stewart took the
conservative politician to task by saying that for gay
people, Huckabee believes that "it is corrosive
to society to allow them to have the privileges that all
humans enjoy."
Huckabee fell
back on the argument he's long used to rationalize
being opposed to gay marriage -- that to redefine
marriage to include same-sex couples would be to
require opening marriage to include practitioners of
polygamy, among other "alternative
lifestyles."
Stewart countered
by offering a look back at how this country used to
define marriage -- with laws that didn't allow mixed
race couples to marry -- and suggesting that under
Huckabee's rationale, "what if we make
it that Hispanics can't vote."
Predictably,
Huckabee countered by saying he didn't think that was
a good idea, but went on to say, "There is a
big difference between a person being black and a
person practicing a lifestyle and engaging in a marital
relationship that ..."
"This gets
to the crux of it," Stewart interrupted, saying the
difference in opinion is "between what you
believe gay people are and what I do."
"I'll tell
you this," he continued. "Religion is far more
of a choice than homosexuality. And the protections
that we have, for religion -- we protect religion --
and talk about a lifestyle choice! That is absolutely
a choice. Gay people don't choose to be gay."
Though Huckabee
has long tiptoed around this issue, his Daily Show
appearance marks the first time the Republican politician
has said on television that he believes homosexuality
is a choice. (Advocate.com)
