Texas politician suggests Baltimore riots caused by same-sex marriages

U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) said riots in Baltimore are an example of what to expect if same-sex marriage were sanctioned across the states. U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) said riots in Baltimore are an example of what to expect if same-sex marriage were sanctioned across the states. Image 1 of / 63 Caption Close Texas politician suggests Baltimore riots caused by same-sex marriages 1 / 63 Back to Gallery

Republicans often connect growing tolerance for gay marriage to the degradation of the American family. But their assertions are growing bolder. Some say gay marriage will literally destroy our society.

For example, a national legislator from Texas on Tuesday suggested the riots that ravaged Baltimore the night before were the fault of men marrying men and women marrying women. U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) went on the conservative TV news program Washington Watch to talk about the ongoing case at the U.S. Supreme Court that would sanction same-sex marriage across the country.

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"The single best indicator of whether or not a child is going to be in poverty or not is whether or not they were raised by a two-parent household or a single parent household, so the breakdown of the family has contributed to poverty," Flores said. "Look at what is going on in Baltimore today; you see the issues that are raised there. Healthy marriages are the ones between a man and a woman because they can have a healthy family and they can raise children in a way that's best for their future, not only socially but psychologically, economically, from a health perspective."

Flores' connection between gay marriage and riots echoes the sentiment of a Texas GOP authority who said accepting gay marriage "could be the end of America."

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It was unclear Thursday how many of the Baltimore rioters were raised by gay parents. However the city does have one of the nation's highest divorce rates according to a 2011 ranking by Business Insider.

The rioters and protestors say they are angry that Baltimore police never explained how a man named Freddie Gray died of a severed spine after being arrested for making eye contact with an officer and running away. They have denied police suggestions that the man severed his own spine. They also draw connections between the Baltimore incident and other examples of police slayings of unarmed black people without punishment.

But Flores, who represents an oddly shaped district including Waco, College Station and a small protrusion enveloping north Austin, apparently things the protesters are suffering the effects of a poor family upbringing wrought by gay parents.