Colorado State Rep. Gordon
Klingenschmitt, a Republican, has warned parents to remove their sons
from the Boys Scouts of America (BSA) before they are sexually
assaulted by gay scout leaders.
The BSA last week lifted its ban on
openly gay adults, though church-sponsored chapters remain free to
decide the issue for themselves.
(Related: Boy
Scouts ends ban on gay adults.)
“If your boy is in one of those
organizations, you need to get them out of there,” Klingenschmitt
warned on his Pray in Jesus Name web program. “Because
what they're going to do is promote homosexual men to mentoring and
camping with your boys in the woods and it will lead to child abuse.”
“It's not about the sexual pleasure
of the adults, it should be about protecting innocent children.”
“This is what Jesus said about child
molesters. If you're going to cause a child to sin, it'd be better
if you just had a millstone hung around your neck and you were
drowned in the depths of the sea,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Colorado Republican
Party distanced itself from Klingenschmitt's remarks.
“We strongly condemn Gordon
Klingenschmitt's highly offensive comments. As we've said in the
past, Gordon does not speak on behalf of the Party, nor do his words
reflect our Party's values,” the group said in a statement.
Dave Montez, executive director of LGBT
rights advocate One Colorado called the remarks “reprehensible.”
“Gay adults are involved in scouting
for the same reasons everyone else is; to serve youth, and to help
them grow into good, strong citizens,” Montez said.
Klingenschmitt defended his remarks,
saying in a text message to The
Gazette, that his critics should “take it up with Jesus.”
“Of course the gay groups want me to
stop quoting the Bible in church,” he wrote. “I will not
apologize for quoting Jesus' words from the pulpit. If they are
easily offended, they should take it up with Jesus, not with me.”