RNC candidate says homosexuality a 'compulsion' that can be 'repressed' John Byrne

Published: Monday January 12, 2009





Print This Email This The man who once unilaterally decided he'd refuse to accept any absentee ballots that weren't printed on 80-pound paper stock is now looking for a better job.



Kenneth Blackwell, made famous by his role in the hotly contested 2004 presidential election in Ohio where he served both as honorary chairman of the Bush-Cheney reelection bid and as the state's top elections official, is now campaigning to become chairman of the Republican National Committee.



But his past may yet come back to haunt him. As Ohio's Secretary of State, he was instrumental in passing Ohio's gay marriage ban amendment, and he let some of his personal feelings slip in 2006 in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch. Blackwell told the interviewer that being gay was like having a compulsion -- for instance, he said, a penchant for arson or kleptomania.



"I think [homosexuality] is a transgression against God's law, God's will," he said. "The reality is, again...that I think we make choices all the time. And I think you make good choices and bad choices in terms of lifestyle. Our expectation is that one's genetic makeup might make one more inclined to be an arsonist or might make one more inclined to be a kleptomaniac. Do I think that they can be changed? Yes."



Blackwell's comments caused outrage in the gay press, but mainstream media articles about the RNC chairman's race have tended to ignore the remarks.



On Monday, however, prominent gay radio host Michaelangelo Signorile posted a transcript of an interview he conducted with Blackwell last September. In it, Blackwell reiterated the crux of his earlier comments.



"I believe homosexuality is a compulsion that can be contained, repressed or changed," Blackwell said, according to the transcript. "The fact is, you can choose to restrain that compulsion. And so I think in fact you don't have to give in to the compulsion to be homosexual. I think that's been proven in case after case after case."



Blackwell was seen to be a rising star in the Republican political landscape, but his outlook dimmed after he lost an Ohio gubernatorial bid in 2006. Today he is Vice Chairman of the Republican National Committee's Platform Committee.



In his radio interview, Sirius OutQ Radio's Signorile also asked Blackwell about his own sexuality.



"Did you choose to be heterosexual?" Signorile asked. "Did you wake up one day and say I want to be heterosexual?"



"The answer is that I've never had to make the choice because I've never had the urge to be other than a heterosexual, but if in fact I had the urge to be something else I could have in fact suppressed that urge," Blackwell said.



