Dr David van Gend, a leading spokesperson for the Coalition for Marriage and head of the Australian Marriage Forum has described homosexuality as “a disordered form of behaviour” during a radio interview.
Dr van Gend, who is a GP and a member of the Queensland’s Liberal National party, was reflecting on the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah when he made the comments, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The doctor reportedly said that people should not be defined by their sexuality.
“If someone has same-sex attraction that is just a curious part of their make-up, it is not who they are. And what’s more, being same-sex attracted carries absolutely no moral blame, it is no one’s fault, no one chooses it, it is just one of these puzzling phenomena,” van Gend said.
Dr van Gend said it was up to people to choose if they acted on their sexuality, and Christians should only have sex if they are married to a person of the opposite sex.
“Whereas by contrast…sexual behaviour, for any of us, is a choice, and we are culpable for the sexual behaviour we might choose to do. And for Christian people it’s pretty darn simple – no sexual behaviour is on at all, and that’s for all of us, unless it is within the faithful unconditional commitment of man-woman marriage. End of story.”
Later in the broadcast Dr van Gend said that without marriage society would be filled with abandoned women, fatherless children, chaos and crime.
The comments were made on Vision Christian Radio and Distributed by Dr van Gend’s organisation The Marriage Forum.
The comments are distinctly different in tone to the approach taking by the Coalition for Marriage who have argued that people should vote against allowing marriage equality because of the consequences it may cause in society, not because of an opposition to people who are same sex attracted.
Another Coalition for Marriage spokesperson, Monica Doumit, has distanced the official ‘No’ campaign for Dr van Gend’s comments saying they do not reflect the views of the organisation, but they will not be asking him him to retract the statements.
It’s not the first time this week that a spokesperson for the Coalition for Marriage has gone “off script”.
On Monday night’s edition of the ABC program Q&A Liberal Party Vice President Karina Okotel, said those opposed to marriage equality had no problem with same sex couples raising children, and admitted that the children of same sex couples were no worse off than those raised by heterosexual couples.
OIP Staff
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