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TN GOP state senator says AIDS came about from "one guy screwing a monkey"



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No, senator Stacey Campfield, that's how you came about.  From Mike Signorile:

"Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community -- it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall."

"My understanding is that it is virtually -- not completely, but virtually -- impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex...very rarely [transmitted]."

"What's the average lifespan of a homosexual? it's very short. Google it yourself."
That last absurd tidbit comes from a discredited hate group run by a man called Paul Cameron.  He's been so discredited that the religious right refuses to even mention the guy any more, even though much of their anti-gay "science" is based on Cameron's fake "Nazi" science (that's what the Southern Poverty Law Center called it).  (As an aside, John Boehner's favorite lawyer - well, he's also well-loved by Attorney General Eric Holder and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan - Paul Clement used research based in part on Cameron's work to defend DOMA.)

As for it being nearly impossible to get HIV from heterosexual sex, the majority of new AIDS cases in Sub-Saharan Africa are from heterosexual sex.  And over a quarter of HIV cases in Washington, DC occurred from heterosexual sex.

Sadly, this kind of rhetoric shouldn't surprise.  The Tennessee Republican party is still racist, in 2012, so we shouldn't be surprised that the state government, run by Republicans, is also virulently anti-gay.  Just last year the Tennessee legislature, with the support of its Republican governor and businesses like Comcast, AT&T, FedEx and Blue Cross, repealed every gay and trans rights ordinance in the state, and banned cities across the state from ever passing another civil rights law ever again.

Tennessee is also the proud state where the Tennessee Tea Party, which is little more than a grouping of conservative Republicans, had this to say about Barney Frank's retirement:
"Good riddance you perverted sodomite piece of sh-t!"
Here's a little more about Tennesee's GOP:

GOP Tennessee Lt. Gov calls Islam a 'cult,' says religious freedom may not count for Muslims

TN GOP sends around press release referring to Obama as "Hussein" and showing him in traditional Muslim garb.

TN GOP staffer sends out photo of Obama as a "spook" ("spook" is a racist term to refer to black people).

Then there was the communications director of the TN GOP who distributed the Christmas carol "Barack the Magic Negro."

Or the time racist Tennessee Republicans passed a law that denied a 96 year old black women the right to vote.

Or the time an "unabashed racist" who believes in eugenics, according to AP, won the House primary in Tennessee.

And now Tennessee is trying to ban teachers, and counselors, from ever mentioning the g-word. Which should do wonders to stop schools from helping gay and trans kids who are being bullied.  Oh yeah, the TN GOP senator also had something to say about bullying:
"That bullying thing is the biggest lark out there."

"There are sexually confused children who could be pushed into a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate with them and it's not for the norm for society, and they don't know how they can get back from that. I think a lot of times these young teens and young children, they find it very hard on themselves and unfortunately some of them commit suicide."
Yes, the evil gays are forcing teens to kill themselves.

Welcome to Tennessee: America at its worst.

(PS The story does have a happy ending, of sorts. Campbell was recently kicked out of a Knoxville, TN restaurant for his comments on gay people and AIDS.)

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