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Mike Huckabee: Opposing LGBT Equality Is ‘On The Right Side Of The Bible’

Mike Huckabee speaking at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. CREDIT: CNN/SCREENSHOT.
Mike Huckabee speaking at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition. CREDIT: CNN/SCREENSHOT.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who may be considering running for president again in 2016, spoke to the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Tuesday night, refuting claims that he is somehow homophobic. Instead, he argued that Christians are the victims for being “on the right side of the Bible” when opposing LGBT equality:

HUCKABEE: I’m not against anybody. I’m really not. I’m not a hater. I’m not homophobic. I honestly don’t care what people do personally in their individual lives. But when people say, ‘Why don’t you just kind of get on the right side of history?’ I said, ‘You’ve got to understand, this for me is not about the right side or the wrong side of history, this is the right side of the Bible, and unless God rewrites it, edits it, sends it down with his signature on it, it’s not my book to change.’ Folks, that’s why I stand where I stand.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s decision not to consider the appeal of a New Mexico photographer who was found guilty of violating state nondiscrimination laws after refusing to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony, Huckabee claimed that Christians are being forced to “take it in the teeth time and time and time again.” Watch it (via CNN):

http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/politics/2014/04/09/sot-huckabee-not-homophobic.pool

Huckabee’s assertion that there is only one Christian position on LGBT positions rejects the reality that there are welcoming churches across the country, Christians who support full marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections, as well as many LGBT people who identify as Christians themselves.

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A recent survey from the Human Rights Campaign found that Americans now generally have a more favorable opinion of gay and lesbian people (53 percent favorable) than they do evangelical Christians (42 percent favorable). The poll also found a significant generation gap, even among evangelical Christians, with 45 percent of evangelicals who are age 18–29 supporting marriage equality.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus believes his party should take its cues from social issues from Huckabee. On LGBT issues, he has said that homosexuality poses a “dangerous public health risk,” that it’s a sin comparable to lying and stealing, that it will lead to polygamy and bigamy, and that gay men are more likely to sexually abuse children.