Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, a Republican, compared gay marriage to incest during a TV interview on Friday.
Corbett was speaking with a WHP-TV anchor, when he was asked about a controversial court filing made by his administration’s legal team. In it, they compared same-sex marriage to a child getting married, since both are illegal, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He responded, saying that this was an “inappropriate analogy.” He continued, “I think a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don’t you?”
The anchor appeared speechless and said “I don’t know... I’m going to leave the comments to you and your team.”
As USA Today notes, Democrats have already picked up on the soundbite, with Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, calling it “an absurd comparison of same-sex marriage.” Shumlin called it “offensive and demeaning.”
The court document in question was filed to get Montgomery County to stop granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it is still illegal in the state, notes the Inquirer. There is also a federal lawsuit trying to get Pennsylvania to allow same sex marriage.
"The Supreme Court left it up to the states to determine under their laws as to what is and isn't a marriage,” Corbett explained. “The federal court shouldn't even be involved in this. But if they say they are, then they're going to make a determination whether the state has the right to determine that a marriage is only between a man and a woman and not between two individuals of the same sex.”
Corbett is running for reelection next year and two of his top Democratic opponents include Rep. Allyson Schwartz and state Treasurer Rob McCord.
image: Wikimedia Commons
