State Representative Louie Gohmert has said gay people shouldn’t serve in the military because warriors in ancient Greece used to have massages before going into battle.

Speaking in an appearance on the Point of View radio show, Gohmert said he believes allowing gay people to serve is “not a good idea.”

According to the Right Wing Watch, he said: “I’ve had people say, ‘Hey, you know, there’s nothing wrong with gays in the military. Look at the Greeks.’

“Well, you know, they did have people come along who they loved that was the same sex and would give them massages before they went into battle.

“But you know what, it’s a different kind of fighting, it’s a different kind of war and if you’re sitting around getting massages all day ready to go into a big, planned battle, then you’re not going to last very long.

“It’s guerrilla fighting. You are going to be ultimately vulnerable to terrorism and if that’s what you start doing in the military like the Greeks did … as people have said, ‘Louie, you have got to understand, you don’t even know your history.’

“Oh yes I do. I know exactly. It’s not a good idea.”

Gohmert previously claimed churches will be forced to hire “cross-dressers” and “Satan-worshippers” because of same-sex marriage.

He also compared gay rights advocates to Nazis in the US House of Representatives.