Sponsor Of North Carolina’s Anti-Gay Marriage Ban Falsified Medical Credentials

On Tuesday, North Carolina state Sen. James Forrester (R) — the sponsor of the bill to add an amendment to the constitution outlawing same-sex marriage — embarrassed himself during a radio interview with SiriusXM’s Michelangelo Signorile when he was unable to back up his claims that people in the gay “lifestyle” live shorter lifespans. Forrester admitted, “I’m not an expert on everything there,” and later threatened to end the interview because he couldn’t explain how same-sex marriage undermines the institution.

Forrester is a medical doctor and he relies on his personal experiences with patients to opine on the health outcomes of the LGBT community. But now, his medical “credentials” are coming into question. Over at Pam’s House Blend, equality supporter Scott Rose investigated Forrester’s claim — made prominently on his campaign website — that he is a “Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine” and discovered that Forrester does not have any affiliation with the group. As the group’s executive director explains:

The quick answer to your questions is that Dr. Forrester is not, and never has been, a member of ACPM (much less a Fellow, which is our highest designation of membership). However, this is troubling to us, too, that he’s apparently claiming to be a Fellow of ACPM, and we would like to know where Dr. Forrester is making these proclamations so that we can approach him and demand that he cease falsely using ACPM credentials in his campaign or wherever else he’s using it.

While Forrester has yet to respond to the charges, the ACPM has contacted his office asking him to “please remove our name and any references to us from their website.”