Bachmann: Asking About My Comments On Gay People Is A “Gotcha Question”

Michele Bachmann, who in the past suggested gay marriage is the most important issue, this morning just before the start of tonight’s Iowa Caucuses, told a CNN reporter that any question asked of her about her position on homosexuality is a “gotcha question.”

READ: Michele Bachmann’s Top Ten Anti-Gay Quotes

Igor Volsky at Think Progress just published this transcript and the video, below:

SOLEDAD O’BRIEN: You have taken a lot of flak for some of your very strong social issues, where you stand on them, and I want to talk about some of them. Your stance on homosexuality — and want to read a little bit of what you said — You said, at the Educators Conference in 2004, ‘Gays live a very sad life,’ and that ‘it’s part of Satan’ And that’s quote. You’ve taken a lot of flak for that. Do you pull back on any of that?
BACHMANN: It’s a bizarre thing to bring up. Today is the election, what people recognize is that the most important issue that people will be looking at is, ‘Who is the best person to deal with the economy?’ […]
O’BRIEN: What you’re telling me is that you don’t want to discuss social issues because you want to discuss the economy. I don’t think it’s a bizarre question. I think it’s a fair question if you’re running to be president.
BACHMANN: Well, it’s a gotcha question coming way out of the past. I stand very strong for marriage between one man and one woman.

In 2004, Michele Bachmann, then-Minnesota state Senator Bachmann, attempted to get an anti-​gay marriage amendment on the Minnesota ballot as a voter referendum to write discrimination directly into her state’s constitution. She failed. Bachmann, in fact, has never successfully ushered any bill into law. Rather a pathetic record.

But she has had a profound effect on the LGBT community, yet refuses to discuss her past comments, like,

“It’s part of Satan I think to say that this is “gay.” It’s anything but gay.”

“If you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I am not here bashing people who are homosexuals, who are lesbians, who are bisexual, who are transgender. We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life and sexual identity disorders.”

“It isn’t that some gay will get some rights. It’s that everyone else in our state will lose rights. For instance, parents will lose the right to protect and direct the upbringing of their children. Because our K-​12 public school system, of which ninety per cent of all youth are in the public school system, they will be required to learn that homosexuality is normal, equal and perhaps you should try it. And that will occur immediately, that all schools will begin teaching homosexuality.”

Anyone with a track record for making these comments, which, in other countries would be legally-considered hate speech, has no right to call questions about them “gothca questions.”