Santorum Tells Young Man: “You’re not gonna use the pink ball. Not on camera.”
Today, at an event in a bowling alley, presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum told a young man bowling with him, who apparently had reached for a pink bowling ball, “You’re not gonna use the pink ball. We’re not gonna let you do that. Not on camera,” according to Reuters reporter Sam Youngman.
The Human Rights Campaign’s vice president for communications, Fred Sainz, struck back.
“This is another example of Rick Santorum intentionally making ignorant statements that have a real impact on LGBT people,” Sainz said in a statement. “Kids have enough to worry about. They don’t need Rick Santorum telling them that using a pink bowling ball is a bad thing.”
Referencing other comments criticized by LGBT advocates, Sainz added, “Whether he’s comparing our marriages to inanimate objects, saying our children would be better off with a parent in prison as opposed to two loving same-sex parents, or calling open military service a ‘tragic social experiment,’ he’s proven that he thinks LGBT people are second-class citizens not worthy of dignity or respect. In this case, he’s advancing tired gender norms by implying a boy should be ashamed or embarrassed to use a certain color bowling ball.”
Pink bowling balls can be found here and here (“Pink Flame Bowling Ball” pictured).
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