Coulter: Marriage Not a Civil Right

Ann Coulter headlined the inaugural Homocon party for the gay conservative group GOProud in New York City on Saturday and told attendees that marriage "is not a civil right -- you're not black."

According to Talking Points Memo, Coulter spoke to some 150 attendees at the fund-raiser presented by GOProud in the apartment of PayPal founder Peter Thiel. Attendees included radio host and GOProud board member Tammy Bruce and gay porn entrepreneur Michael Lucas.

"Marriage 'is not a civil right -- you're not black,' Coulter said to nervous laughter," Smith reported. "She went on to note that gays are among the wealthiest demographic groups in the country. "Blacks must be looking at the gays saying, 'Why can't we be oppressed like that?' "

Megan Carpentier at Talking Points Memo reported that Coulter, in a speech more like a stand-up act, suggested that the conservative gay rights movement should align with the antiabortion movement, because, she said, "as soon as they find the gay gene, you know who's getting aborted."

Carpentier reported that Coulter drew a mixed response from the GOProud crowd.

"Despite the laugh lines," Carpentier said, "Coulter's arguments against same-sex marriage were not well-received by much of the crowd. For instance, the question-and-answer session after the speech was dominated by Homocon attendees grilling her on her position on a range of issues, including whether opposition to same-sex marriage was really in line with the conservative principles of limited government and whether she personally believes that homosexuality is a choice -- a question she declined to answer. In response to a question from GOProud chairman Chris Barron, she did imply that conservative opposition to same-sex marriage from politicians who benefited from no-fault divorce was hypocritical and suggested that marriage-minded politicians ought to back a wholesale effort to repeal no-fault divorce laws in the states."