NY Republican Gov. Candidate Carl Paladino Makes Anti-Gay Remarks

(Oct. 10) -- A Republican gubernatorial hopeful in New York told a meeting of Orthodox Jewish leaders on Sunday that children should not be "brainwashed" into believing homosexuality is an acceptable way to live.

The remarks came as Tea Party-backed Carl Paladino discussed why he is opposed to gay marriage. "I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don't want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option -- it isn't," he said, reading from a prepared speech, according to The New York Times.

The written address went a step further, saying, "There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual." Paladino did not read that line during the speech, according to reports.

Paladino also slammed his Democratic rival, Andrew Cuomo, for marching in New York's gay pride parade. "That's not the example that we should be showing our children," he said, according to the New York Daily News.

Cuomo's spokesman Josh Vlasto said Paladino showed a "stunning homophobia and a glaring disregard for basic equality."

Paladino's remarks came on the same day that eight suspects were arraigned in a Bronx courtroom on charges they gruesomely attacked and sexually assaulted three men they believed to be gay.

The politician's comments drew harsh rebuke from the gay community.

"His words foster a climate of hatred and intolerance instead of helping heal the city of its wounds," Michael Silver, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, told the Daily News. Silver called on Paladino to apologize immediately.

Paladino's campaign manager, Michael R. Caputo, told the Times that Paladino is not anti-gay.

"Carl Paladino is simply expressing the views that he holds in his heart as a Catholic," Caputo said. "Carl Paladino is not homophobic, and neither is the Catholic Church."

"The majority of New Yorkers agree with him," he added.