Gay Economist Called to Congress Wanted to 'Tax Gay Sex'

A U.S. House committee delayed testimony by an out San Diego economist Joseph Sabia after blog surfaced in which the academic called on taxing "homosexual acts."

Sabia in 2002 wrote a post entitled "Tax Gay Sex" on his blog "No Shades of Gray," which he billed as "The Ivy League's Premier Conservative Column."

"Homosexual activity has been responsible for devastating health outcomes -- deadly HIV, hepatitis B, and various other sexually transmitted diseases," Sabia wrote.

"When two random men get together and choose to have sex, there is not an insignificant risk of infection and death. And if these infected men then go on to have sex with women, then you have women -- and possibly children -- who will be stricken with AIDS."

In a separate post, titled "College Girls: Unpaid Whores," he attacks women for promiscuity. In addition to complaining in that post about women who have sex "when they feel like it," he also takes further swipes at the gay community.

"It should surprise no one that sexual activity has historically been more frequent among gay men than among heterosexuals," Sabia wrote.

"This is because there is no civilizing female force in the gay community. Whenever men want to have sex, they just go ahead and do it. Neither of the partners has much of an incentive to refrain from sex since monogamous relationships and traditional familes are generally not the final goals of these partnerships. Recently, the behavior of young heterosexuals has begun to resemble that of gay men because young women are imitating men in their sexual promiscuity."

Republican congressional leaders intended to call on Sabia as a witness on an Education and Workforce hearing, where he planned to discuss the effects of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, according to Politico.

Sabia issued a statement to Politico saying the blog posts had been satirical.

"I regret the hurtful and disrespectful language I used as a satirical college opinion writer," he wrote. "As an out gay man in a long-term committed relationship... accusations of homophobia stemming from college nonsense I wrote nearly 20 years ago are hurtful to my family today."

San Diego State University, Sabia's employer, released a statement as distancing themselves from the old posts, stating the school "unequivocally rejects any sentiment which seeks to undermine or devalue the dignity of any person based on their gender, orientation, ability, or any other difference among people which has been an excuse for misunderstanding, dissension or hatred."

Rep. Mark Takano, the ranking Democrat on the committee, called it an "absolute shame and a disgrace" GOP leaders invited Sabia as an expert witness, according to CNBC.

"Instead of simply postponing this hearing -- which would have been the first hearing on the federal minimum wage that Republicans have held in eight years -- my Republican colleagues on the Committee should have issued a strong rebuke disavowing this witness and let the hearing go on," he said.