NEW YORK
Paladino says he would hire gays
NEW YORK | Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino said Monday that he does not discriminate against gays but thinks young children shouldn't be exposed to gay culture, especially at gay pride parades.
"They wear these little Speedos and they grind against each other and it's just a terrible thing," Mr. Paladino said Monday on NBC's "Today" show. "Why would you bring your children to that?"
The candidate said he opposes same-sex marriage but would actively recruit gays to his administration. Mentioning his gay nephew, Mr. Paladino said the discrimination he and others face is a "very ugly experience."
His comments came a day after he told Orthodox Jewish leaders he doesn't want children "brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality" is acceptable.
Mr. Paladino, who has received "tea party" support, made the remarks at a synagogue in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section while trying to strike a contrast between himself and his Democratic rival, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Mr. Paladino said he chose not to march in this summer's gay pride parade but his opponent did.
"That's not how God created us," Mr. Paladino said Sunday of being gay, "and that's not the example that we should be showing our children."
He also told the congregation that children who later in life choose to marry people of the opposite sex and raise families would be "much better off and much more successful."
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