Nev. Politician: Gays Are Unconstitutional Since They Can't Procreate

A school board candidate in Nevada has been caught on video saying that being gay is unconstitutional because gay people cannot procreate.

John Carlo is running for school board in Clark County in Nevada, the county that includes Las Vegas. In video posted to Twitter by Patriot Takes, a group monitoring the far right, he is seen speaking at a church, holding up the children's book King & King, about two young male royals who fall in love with each other. The book and others like it shouldn't be used in schools, he says.

"I believe the Constitution," he says. "I believe in ... the way our founding fathers believed in this country: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That means that homosexuals cannot procreate. This goes against our Constitution and this goes against what parents want in the school district, and this is only one book out of thousands."

It's important to note that the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" appears in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. There is also nothing in the Constitution that says anyone has to procreate. Gay people, and LGBTQ+ people in general, certainly can procreate. And some straight people, in fact, can't.

Carlo has taken all his social media feeds down, but Raw Story has a screencap of an Instagram post where he poses with a Confederate flag, saying, "I've never been so thrilled to see a rebel flag." He says it's flown "to remember Confederate history" and denounces NASCAR for banning it.

There are three seats open on the seven-member Clark County School Board, and several candidates are running for each. The races are nonpartisan. The primary will be held June 14 and the general election November 8.

Numerous Twitter users have expressed disgust with Carlo's bizarre statement, some using humor to do so.