Christian Conservatives: Let's Stop Using Word 'Gay'

A group of social conservatives thinks it has a way to turn the gay rights debate around: Stop using the word “gay.” At the Awakening conference at Liberty University in Virginia last weekend, Ryan Sorba, chairman of the Young Conservatives of California, said that merely using that word was conceding ground, the Huffington Post reports. “Gay identity does not exist,” Sorba declared. “Gay is a left-wing socio-political construct designed to create grounds for fundamental rights [based on] whimsical capricious desires.”

“What we need to do is state that look, this is either ‘same-sex attraction,’ or maybe they’re engaging in ‘same-sex intercourse,’ or ‘sodomy,’ or whatever word you’re comfortable using.” Later, someone suggested that gays be referred to as “anti-Christian.” Other panelists fretted over other aspects of the “gay threat,” with one speculating that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal could lead to higher HIV rates among the troops, the American Independent reports. (More gay rights stories.)