DeMint: Ban Gays from Teaching

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina says that “everyone” secretly urged him not to back down from his 2004 statement that gay people and unwed mothers should be banned from teaching—although no one publicly came to his defense. In an interview with the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, DeMint said that these silent supporters “don't want government purging their rights and their freedom to religion,” construing the failure to ban gay teachers as an attack on Christians. He also defended his position on gay teachers by pointing out that he’s consistent: He doesn’t think sexually active unmarried women ought to teach, either. He didn’t mention whether sexually active unmarried men ought to be allowed in the classroom.