Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino told Orthodox Jewish leaders he doesn’t want children “brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality” is acceptable.
“I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family,” said Paladino. His prepared remarks included this line: “I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option–it isn’t. There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual. That is not how God created us,” which turned into this: “That’s not how God created us and that’s not the example that we should be showing our children.”
Paladino’s Democratic opponent, Andrew Cuomo, seized on the remarks, which he called a display of “stunning homophobia and a glaring disregard for basic equality.” He went on, “These comments along with other views he has espoused make it clear that he is way out of the mainstream and unfit to represent New York.”
Paladino, sensing the gravity of his mistake, claimed later that he didn’t approve of all his comments, which, he said were suggested by the “hosts at the synagogue,”.
