“In any elected or appointed capacity by which I may have the honor of serving our fellow citizens in these United States, I … do hereby solemnly vow to honor and to cherish, to defend and to uphold, the institution of marriage as only between one man and one woman.”
– An excerpt from “The Marriage Vow,” signed by Michele Bachmann
Gay rights groups intend to put presidential candidate Michele Bachmann’s views and her husband’s views front and center in the 2012 presidential race.
Speaking on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Mathews, Equality Matters President Richard Socarides said, “The bottom line is her views are way outside of the mainstream of American political thought and American thought. She has a long history of opposing the most basic rights for gay Americans.”
“Michele Bachmann’s homophobic views are out of step with mainstream America, and it’s time for her fellow GOP presidential contenders to publicly denounce them,” HRC President Joe Solmonese added. “The past few years we’ve seen a surge in support for equality and have made important legislative progress. Bachmann’s support for things like reparative therapy signals just how fringe a candidate she really is.”
The same week that the notoriously anti-gay Republican signed her name to the far-right group the Family Leader’s pledge “The Marriage Vow: A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family,” she was defending her clinic, co-owned with her husband Marcus, which allegedly offers gay conversion therapy.
The Washington Blade reported Bachmann as being proud of the business but dodging issues on its practices.
“As I said, again, we’re very proud of our business, and we’re proud of all our job creators in the United States. That’s what people really care about, and that’s what people are talking to me about all across Iowa,” said Bachmann.
It was reported the Bachmann campaign didn’t respond to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the conversion services offered at the clinic.
Michele Bachmann’s husband has called LGBT Americans “barbarians” who “need to be disciplined.”
Their clinic, Bachmann and Associates, reportedly practices conversion therapy – based on the theory that being gay can be cured or prayed away. The Washington Blade reported that this has additional significance because the clinic has reportedly been the beneficiary of state and federal funds, raising questions about the extent to which federal dollars are subsidizing the widely discredited practice.
