Republican Congressman Says OK to Fire Gays

James Lankford, a Republican representative from Oklahoma, believes a person should be able to be fired for his or her sexual orientation, according to Think Progress. Lankford spoke with Annie-Rose Strasser and Scott Keyes last week in Washington, D.C., and expressed his belief that being gay is a choice and something that doesn't merit workplace protections from discrimination (which a few congressional leaders are trying to push through in 2012).

Watch the video for the full conversation.

A choice excerpt from the conversation:

STRASSER: Would you support a law that says you can't fire someone for their sexual orientation -
KEYES: Similar to protections for people on race or gender?

LANKFORD: Well, you're now dealing with behavior and I'm trying to figure out exactly what you're trying to mean by that. Because you're dealing with -- race and sexual preferences are two different things. One is a behavior-related and preference-related and one is something inherently -- skin color, something obvious, that kind of stuff. You don't walk up to someone on the street and look at them and say, "Gay or straight?"

KEYES: But you think that even if you can't see they're that way, you don't think someone is born gay necessarily?

LANKFORD: Do I personally? No. I don't. I think it's a choice issue. Are tendencies and such? Yes. But I think it's a choice issue.