Congressman Running Against Lesbian Once Compared Gays to Rapists

It was only five years ago that Minnesota's Jason Lewis placed same-sex couples in the same category as rapists. He also warned of the dangers of gay people raising children.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

August 08 2018 3:57 PM EST

May 31 2023 8:20 PM EST

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After it was recently revealed he called women "sluts" on his radio show, more offensive remarks by Republican Minnesota congressman Jason Lewis were unearthed. The representative is now running for reelection against Angie Craig, a lesbian healthcare executive, to represent the state's 2nd District in the House.

Speaking of marriage equality in 2013, Lewis made the following argument: "When we pass a law against rape, you're not treating a rapist equal. The law, the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, simply means this: that people who find themselves in similar circumstances must be treated in a similar way. ... You must discriminate against all smokers, you must discriminate against all rapists."

The episode -- in which Lewis called LGBTQ activists "underhanded," claimed they were "shredding the Constitution," and posited that children may be harmed by same-sex parents -- was discovered by a Democratic opposition firm and first reported by Buzzfeed.

Should the Equal Protection Clause be found to protect the rights of same-sex couples -- which it was in 2015 -- it "would undo the entire state criminal code because we're all treated unequally," according to Lewis. "Speeders, when you're flying down the highway ten miles an hour over the speed limit, next time a cop pulls you over, say, 'I'm going to file a Supreme Court challenge to this ticket. I am being treated unequally. The guy next to me is not getting a ticket but I am just because I'm a speeder. The law has a disparate impact on speeders.'"