In his new book A More Perfect Union, Carson tackled the issue of altering laws to allow same-sex couples to marry.
“Laws and regulations should be designed to address normal situations while providing special mechanisms for the creation of exceptions in abnormal situations,” Carson writes, according to PinkNews. “Changing the law governing the normal situation in order to accommodate the abnormal situation is like requiring that car seats be designed to accommodate conjoined twins as well as anatomically normal children.
“The more sensible thing would be to require car seats to accommodate typical children and design special car seats for atypical children as needed,” he continues. “This principle can be applied to a host of situations in our nation. For example, most people are heterosexual, and changing the definition of marriage to suit those outside that definition is unnecessarily complicated.”
TJ Helmstetter, Democratic National Committee spokesperson, took Carson’s unusual stance to attack both him and the Republican field for their outdated views on marriage equality.
“Today, Ben Carson has released a great summary of the entire Republican field’s talking points. Thanks Ben Carson!” Helmstetter stated. “Our children’s freedom is threatened by abortion. Immigrant families should be deported. Gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry.
“We’ve heard it all before from the Republican field, and now we’re reading it in Ben Carson’s book,” he continued. “Carson, Trump, Bush, Fiorina, Rubio and the others — it’s no coincidence that they agree on so much. They would shut down the government to defund Planned Parenthood, and they’d all take our country backwards.”
Carson currently polls second for the Republican nomination, behind the ever buoyant Donald Trump.
A proposed bill in Arkansas would criminalize anyone who is believed to have supported the social transition of transgender youth.
The bill's prohibitions are so broad, in fact, that it could lead to the prosecution of hairdressers who give youth haircuts that don't conform to stereotypical gender norms.
Under the Vulnerable Youth Protection Act, any person found to have affirmed the gender identity of a minor that does not match the minor's assigned sex at birth could be sued by that minor or their parents for at least $10,000, plus compensatory damages and attorney's fees, for up to 20 years afterward.
A Republican lawmaker in Texas introduced a bill to prevent Texas schools from allowing students to behave in ways that mimic the "furry" subculture in classrooms and on campuses.
Furries are a minority sub-culture of adults who typically dress in costumes and roleplay behaviors characteristic of anthropomorphic animal personalities. Some furries -- though not all -- may identify as LGBTQ.
State Rep. Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville), the bill's sponsor, says that he introduced the FURRIES Act on March 13 to discourage schools from allowing students to mimic animal behavior. He says such behaviors are disruptive to learning.
A popular LGBTQ nightclub in Sacramento, California, is prohibiting patrons who wear MAGA-related attire from entering the establishment.
Badlands, in the city's Lavender Heights district, announced the policy on social media. Management claimed they were motivated to impose the ban after a patron wore a MAGA hat while in the bar, leading some patrons to complain that they were made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
"At Badlands Sacramento, we are committed to creating a space where the LGBTQ+ community and our allies feel safe, welcomed, and respected," TJ Bruce, the bar's owner, wrote in a social media post. "Recently, a guest entered the bar wearing MAGA attire, which led to some discomfort among patrons.
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