For weeks vice
presidential candidate Sarah Palin has repeatedly alluded
to having many "gay friends" in interviews, even
though gay and lesbian residents of Wasilla,
Alaska, the small town where Palin once served as
mayor, have suggested the governor has been less than
supportive when it comes to gay rights.
But Tuesday
night, in a second interview with CBS Evening
News anchor Katie Couric, Palin elaborated on the friend
she's so often referred to -- a woman she says
she's been close with for 30 years.
Palin sat down
with Couric to discuss, among other things, her
conservative stance on several social issues. When talk
turned to a church that Palin has frequented
sponsoring a conference promoting the "conversion" of
gays and lesbians to heterosexuality through prayer,
the maverick Republican turned defensive.
"I
don't know what prayers are worthy of being prayed,
and I don't know what prayers are going to be
answered, but as for homosexuality, I am not going to
judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their
adult personal lives."
Palin suggested
the press "got it wrong" when they implied she
supported the church's beliefs.
Later, despite
acknowledging that one of her best friends is a lesbian,
Palin went on to suggest that she believes homosexuality is
a choice.
"One of my
absolute best friends for the past 30 years happens to be
gay ... I love her dearly. She is not my gay friend --
she is one of my best friends. She happens to have
made a choice that isn't a choice that I would
have made."
In talking with
Couric as she gears up for her debate with Democratic
vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden, Palin further clarified
her position on abortion. Though she says she strongly
believes in counseling young women to choose life, she
says jailing a woman for choosing abortion is
"not something I would ever support."
Palin also said
that because she believes life begins at conception, she
takes issue with the morning-after pill as a form of birth
prevention. (Ross von Metzke, The Advocate)
