Marcus Bachmann Speaks: I Never Called Gays Barbarians

Marcus Bachmann, the embattled husband of 2012 GOP Republican candidate for president Michele Bachmann, finally has spoken about allegations his Christian counseling centers practice so-called “ex-gay” or “reparative” therapy, and he denies it. Bachmann also denies he ever called gays “barbarians,” or that he or his clinics are “anti-gay.”

WATCH: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts Explores Marcus Bachmann’s Ex-Gay Therapy

A widely-circulated audio recording of Marcus Bachmann speaking in a radio interview, in which Bachmann clearly says, “We have to understand: Barbarians need to be educated. They need to be disciplined. Just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn’t mean that we are supposed to go down that road,” Bachmann claims, is doctored.

“I was talking in reference to children. Nothing, nothing to do with homosexuality. That’s not my mindset. That’s not my belief system. That’s not the way I would talk,” Bachmann says, in an exclusive interview with the Star-Tribune, and adds, “I think the strongest myth. … is the myth that I have ever called a homosexual a barbarian.”

(Of course, the next question would be, why would Bachmann, an unlicensed Christian counselor, call children “Barbarians?”)

WATCH: Bachmann Ex-Gay Counseling: Actual Hidden-Camera Video Of A Real Session

Regarding allegations Bachmann’s clinics practice ex-gay therapy — proven true after a Truth Wins Out employee attended five hidden-camera sessions while undercover — Bachmann says, “Will I address it? Certainly we’ll talk about it. Is it a remedy form that I typically would use? … It is at the client’s discretion,” but adds, “We don’t have an agenda or a philosophy of trying to change someone.”

Truth Wins Out (TWO) founder Wayne Besen emphatically disagrees. “The notion that a counselor is required harm a client just because he or she asks is patently absurd, asserts TWO. Similarly, if a bodybuilder had asked a doctor to help him or her inject steroids, the practitioner could refuse.”

“Bachmann & Associates was under no obligation to offer a quack therapy treatment that is rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health association in America,” said TWO’s Wayne Besen. “Taking a clients hard-earned money for a ‘cure’ that is not possible is unethical and a form of consumer fraud.”

READ: 10 Questions Bachmann’s Husband Must Answer About “Christian Counseling”

“Marcus Bachmann is not telling the truth when he dishonestly claims that his clinic is not anti-gay,” said Besen, responding to Bachmann’s new statement in the Star-Tribune. “Our investigation clearly shows that his clinic has great antipathy towards gay and lesbian people and his therapists work to convert clients from gay to straight.”

“Marcus Bachmann is willfully and wantonly misrepresenting what I experienced during my five therapy sessions at his clinic,” said John Becker, TWO’s Director of Communications and Development, who led an undercover operation at Bachmann’s clinic. “We urge Bachmann & Associates to stop misleading the public and commit to ending the harmful and discredited practice of ‘ex-gay’ therapy.”

Thanks to Dave Evans, as always, of SuchIsLifeVideos for the clip!