Bachmann Bombs With Gay "Joke" On Leno

Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann is giving her opponents plenty of free ammunition this week: her attempt at a joke about gay reparative therapy drew crickets and she claimed antigay bullying is not a federal issue.

While appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Bachmann was asked by the host about her husband Marcus's controversial gay reparative clinic. She quickly corrected Leno that she and her husband operate a Christian counseling clinic with psychiatrists and psychologists. "We do a great job," she says. Leno then revealed to Bachmann that he doesn't get the "pray the gay away thing."

Bachman then tries to keep the conversation from getting too serious. "When I heard that I thought it was like a midlife crisis line, like 'pray away the gray.'" Leno then presses on, asking, "If two gay people want to get married, why is that an issue?" Bachmann responds, "Family is foundational. Marriage between a man and a woman is what the law has been for years.

CBS News reports that Alex Limon attended Bachmann's rally in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Friday and asked her how she will handle antigay bullying in her Minnesota district's schools. "That's not a federal issue," Bachmann said quickly and moved on to the next person waiting to speak to her.

Watch a clip from The Tonight Show below.