Chris Barron, chairman of gay GOP group
GOProud, on Thursday came to the defense of presidential hopeful
Herman Cain, who said being gay is a sin.
Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's
Pizza, briefly
talked about gay rights during a nearly 20-minute interview with CBS
News' Hotsheet on Wednesday.
“I believe homosexuality is a sin
because I'm a Bible-believing Christian,” he said. “I believe
it's a sin.”
“But I know that some people make
that choice. That's their choice,” he added.
“So you believe it's a choice?” the
interviewer asked.
“I believe it is a choice,” Cain
responded.
While disagreeing with Cain's answer,
Barron wrote that it didn't affect how he viewed the 65-year-old GOP
candidate for president.
“The bottom line is that Herman
Cain's personal position on whether being gay is a sin or a choice
has no bearing on whether the policies he supports would be good for
gay and lesbian Americans,” Barron
wrote on his blog TheRealRedBarron.com.
“Herman Cain understands the real and
present danger that the spread of radical Islam poses to our way of
life. Herman Cain hasn't been shy about speaking out about the need
to confront and stop the spread of radical Islam – a barbaric
ideology that brutalizes women, religious minorities and gays.”
Barron also chided gay groups and
bloggers who had criticized Cain's comments: “For the gay left none
of this will matter. All that matters is the group hug. For the gay
left, it isn't important whether the policies pursued by a candidate
or a party actually improve the lives of gay people, all that matters
is that they get the pat on the head – the assurance that they are
ok.”
“It is time the gay community put
real policy before emotional theater, and that is exactly why gay
people should be willing to listen to and consider the candidacy of
Herman Cain.”
Earlier
this year, Barron chided former Minnesota Governor and
presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty for saying he would support
reinstatement of “Don't Ask Don't Tell,” the 1993 law that bans
gay and bisexual troops from serving openly. Cain
has also called for the law's return.