Former Arkansas
governor and Republican presidential hopeful Mike
Huckabee appeared on Meet the Press with Tim
Russert Sunday, explaining that he doesn't
believe homosexuality is linked to sadomasochism,
pedophilia, or necrophilia. "But one thing I know,
that the behavior one practices is a choice," said
Huckabee, even if "we may have certain
tendencies."
Huckabee and
former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are equal
frontrunners in the January 3 Iowa caucus and the January 19
South Carolina caucus, according to Rasmussen polls.
Huckabee trails Romney, Sen. John McCain, and Rudy
Giuliani among those planning to vote in the New
Hampshire caucus, on January 8.
Below are
excerpts from the show's transcript:
MR. RUSSERT:
Peggy Noonan, a woman of faith who writes for The Wall
Street Journal, said that sometimes it appears
your philosophy is "This is what God wants," and that
doesn't encourage discussion, it squelches it. And this is
what you wrote in your book, Kids Who Kill, in
1998: "It is now difficult to keep track of the vast
array of publicly endorsed and institutionally
supported aberrations -- from homosexuality and pedophilia
to sadomasochism and necrophilia." Why would you link
homosexuality with sadomasochism, pedophilia, and
necrophilia?
GOV. HUCKABEE:
Well, what I was pointing out is all of these are
deviations from what has been the traditional concept of
sexual behavior and men and women having children,
raising those children in the context of a, of a
traditional marriage and family. And, again, taken out of
the larger context of that book, speaking about how so
many of our social institutions have been broken down.
MR. RUSSERT: But
do you think homosexuality is equivalent to
pedophilia...
GOV. HUCKABEE:
Oh, of course not.
MR. RUSSERT:
...or sadomasochism?
GOV. HUCKABEE:
No, of course not. I didn't say...
MR. RUSSERT: But
this is what concerns people. This, this is what you did
say about homosexuality: "I feel homosexuality is an
aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle." That's
millions of Americans.
GOV. HUCKABEE:
Tim, understand, when a Christian speaks of sin, a
Christian says all of us are sinners. I'm a sinner,
everybody's a sinner. What one's sin is, means it's
missing the mark. It's missing the bull's eye, the
perfect point. I miss it every day; we all do. The
perfection of God is seen in a marriage in which one
man, one woman live together as a couple committed to
each other as life partners. Now, even married couples
don't do that perfectly, so sin is not some act of equating
people with being murderers or rapists...
MR. RUSSERT: But
when you say aberrant or unnatural, do you believe
you're born gay or you choose to be gay?
GOV. HUCKABEE: I
don't know whether people are born that way. People who
are gay say that they're born that way. But one thing I
know, that the behavior one practices is a choice. We
may have certain tendencies, but how we behave and how
we carry out our behavior -- but the important issue
that I want to address, because I think when you bring up
the faith question, Tim, I've been asked more about my
faith than any person running for president. I'm OK
with that. I hope I've answered these questions very
candidly and very honestly. I think it's important for us
to talk about it. But the most important thing is to find
out, does our faith influence our public policy and
how? I've never tried to rewrite science textbooks.
I've never tried to come out with some way of imposing
a doctrinaire Christian perspective in a way that is really
against the Constitution. I've never done that.
(The Advocate)
