Huckabee: Gays Don't Have to Worry About Violence

Governor Mike Huckabee, the right-wing Christian ex-presidential hopeful who masks his homophobia with a goofy smile and folksy manner, appeared on ABC's The View and pointed out that "homosexual" rights and civil rights are "a different set of rights."  In reference to California's Prop 8 the Huckster gassed:  "When we’re talking about a redefinition of an institution, that’s different than individual civil rights."  Host Joy Beher correctly pointed out that "segregation was an institution, too, in a way. It was right there on the books."  To which Huckabee replied:  "But here is the difference: Bull Connor was hosing people down in the streets of Alabama. John Lewis got his skull cracked on the Selma bridge."  (Wow, it's a good thing gays don't have to worry about cracked skulls - or worse.)

From Think Progress:  To suggest that a civil rights movement must meet some sort of violence threshold is an incredibly dangerous argument — not to mention blind to the serious violence gay people have already suffered. 16.6 percent of all hate crimes reported by the FBI in 2007 “resulted from sexual-orientation bias,” and the number of hate crimes directed against gays and lesbians increased six percent from 2006. More striking, a 2007 study by the University of California, Davis, found that “[n]early four in 10 gay men and about one in eight lesbians and bisexuals in the United States have been the target of violence or a property crime because of their sexual orientation.”

In the midst of Huckabee's bloviating, co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked him about the recent Arkansas initiative that makes it illegal for gays and lesbians to adopt children or serve as foster parents.  Huckabee promptly jumped on the best-environment-for-raising-children bandwagon (It's a Mom AND a Dad, you dolts!) and blithely told Whoopi that this law is important "to train the next generation."  (Train them, apparently, that gays make unfit parents).  Throughout the segment conservative host Elizabeth Hasselbeck (whose claim to fame included a stint on the CBS reality show Survivor) nodded and smiled prettily at everything Huckabee said.

UPDATE:  More craziness from the Huckster.  Speaking with conservative talk show host Bill Bennett, the former Arkansas governor insanely claimed that in approving Prop. 8 California voters did not ban same-sex marriage rights, but simply reaffirmed the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.  Mike really should get out more.  His knowledge of the LGBT community and the issues that affect them is abysmal.  (Think Progress has audio from the show.)

Related Post:  Jon Stewart to the Rescue! 

Comments

[Amanda]

I saw that segment on the View and it looked to me like they were all handling him with kid gloves - even Whoopi. No one took issue over what Huckabee said about the guy getting his head cracked open, insinuating that stuff like never happens to gay men. It felt like Whoopi was going to call him on it... but then Huck launched into his story about a Christian woman being attacked somehere, and that ended that. So disappointing.

[Some Guy]

I'm a huge supporter of gay right, but I think this article is unfair to huckabee. It puts his face next to pictures of acts that he would probably not condone. The man may not support marriage or adoption for gay couples, but I fail to see how that makes him a supporter of violence. If he does condone violence then this article did a very poor job of providing proof.

It's fine to be against someone because of what they believe, but don't skew the truth even for a noble cause.

[Bee Girl]

Nobody said that Huckabee condoned violence against LGBT people, although he sure hasn't helped things by voting AGAINST hate crimes legislation. Huck said the DIFFERENCE between gay rights and civil rights was the violence that blacks had to put up with. Those photos show that gays have also been assaulted in their struggle for equality.

[sam]

huckleberry doesn't get it - he prolly doesn't know any gays, much less gays who had the crap beaten out of them

[nizzle]

conservatives need to get down on my nuts

F*** YOU mike

[Paster Dave]

You kids have to remember that Huck thinks that if he accepts gays then he will burn in hell. Your not going to change his beliefs, he is a biggot (as so is his god). This is just an example of the "Jerry Springer" thought process, get a bunch of ignorant people with extreme differences and watch the violence. That whole The View show was setup for conflict and ratings. Simple as that. You can't change a belief based on irrational fear and you can't change Huck's views. The View is at fault here, not Huck... too bad ol' Huck is a x'ian, gays and jesus just don't work together. too bad cause there is a reason jesus never got married and hung out with a bunch of men...it was the perfect trick (jesus=gay man). :-)

[J. Frank Parnell]

He's another typical right wing Christian Nutjob: a fake, insincere, smiling, 'hate the sin, love the sinner' bullshit artist. I loathe everything people like this stand for. Too many people have taken too much crap from the gay haters/bashers for too long to let them get away with this shit any longer! Stand up for your rights. Fight back.

Rise up against the hate.

[Christian (sans bigotry, thanks.)]

Sorry, "Pastor Dave," but please don't call my God a bigot. More than that, it is just pointless to insinuate that Jesus was a gay man. God is not a bigot, some of his followers are. Some of his followers are willing to ignore the message of Christianity so they may remain comfortable in ignorance and hatred, but they in no way speak for my religion.
So what's the deal with you calling Jesus gay? Is it to create your own hatred--because you think Christian will say "OH MY GOSH YOU HEATHEN"? Sorry to disappoint. What really worries me is that you are spreading the bigotry to are pretending to decry.
PS- Gays and Jesus? Total BFFs.

[Max P.]

Dear Christian,

It's comments like yours that make my humble blogging efforts worthwhile. Thanks for responding. Regards, Max

[Dave]

Just to play devils advocate here, last time I checked gays are victims of hate crimes, not victims of government abuse. Being attacked by random idiots is not the same as having the police cracking your skull for marching in Selma.

[Bryant]

I don't like him either. But, the heart of Huckabee's argument is the fact that the fundamental meaning of the term "marriage" is in danger of being changed. If you think twisting a word's meaning is no biggie, you need to think more about the long term implications of how the past is perceived (and the future shaped) based on differing definitions of the same word. What good is our language if meaning changes from writing to reading?
Whether you're a believer in the Biblical God or not, you should at least respect that "marriage" was defined there as a union between a man and a woman. Homosexuals should stop trying to use it to describe their proposed unions. Come up with your own term. Is that so difficult?
Despite how the media portrays the opinions of the "Christian right," I think most of us really don't care to control what gays do behind closed doors, or if they have an institution legally equal to marriage. Surely, there's still enough creativity in English speaking people to generate a new word every now and then...isn't there?

[Emily]

Actually, Dave, that's not true. Gays and transgendered people are frequently the victims of police brutality. Look it up with Amnesty International. They have quite a bit of information.
Either way, the definition of a "civil rights movement" includes no violence qualifications.