Republican presidential candidate John
Kasich said Friday that being gay is “probably” not a “lifestyle
choice.”
At a forum hosted by the Commonwealth
of California Club, Kasich was asked whether he believes that being
gay is a choice.
“Do you believe that some people are
born gay? … Gay people are human beings and not a lifestyle choice.
Please respond without prayer being an answer,” asked Kelly Bryan,
a 62-year-old man who said that he came out to his parents at 19.
“I don't believe in discrimination,”
the Ohio governor answered. “I think there is a balance, however,
between discrimination and people's religious liberties. But I think
we should just try to, like, take a chill pill, relax, and try to get
along with one another a little bit better instead of trying to write
some law to solve a problem that doesn't frankly exist in big enough
numbers to justify more lawmaking.”
“Republicans don't believe in
marriage equality,” Bryan, who told CNN
he's a Hillary Clinton supporter, countered. “It's your
platform.”
“Well, no, they don't tell me what to
do about the platform. The Republican Party is my vehicle, not my
master. I have a right to define the Republican Party, too,”
Kasich answered.
Bryan reiterated his original question.
“Do I think that people are, you
know, born gay? Probably,” Kasich
responded. “I've never studied the issue. But I don't see any
reason to hurt you or to discriminate [against] you or make you feel
bad or make you feel like a second class citizen. I don't think
that's right.”
Kasich also suggested that some people
opposed to gay rights are using religion to justify their opposition.
“Sometimes people say that they're
religious, okay. Just because I say that I'm a Ford Falcon doesn't
make me one. Don't you understand what that means? Just because I
say I'm faithful doesn't mean that I am,” he said.