Christie: Perry ‘wrong’ on gay analogy
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Friday rejected Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) description of homosexuality, calling it “wrong.”
Christie said he was speaking for himself when disavowing an analogy Perry made earlier this week that used alcoholism to describe homosexuality.
“I will just say that I disagree with them,” Christie told reporters while in San Francisco. “And I don’t believe that is an apt analogy and not one that should be made, because I think it is wrong. But, you know, every governor or official needs to speak for themselves on these issues. I just spoke for myself.”
{mosads}Earlier in the week, Perry caught criticism for an answer he gave while discussing the Texas GOP’s platform that endorses gay reparative therapy. Perry made the analogy when asked if he thought homosexuality was a disorder.
“I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way,” he said.
Perry and Christie are both seen as potential candidates for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. And the two have had disagreements in the past. Perry questioned Christie’s conservative credentials shortly after Christie’s reelection victory last year.
“Is a conservative in New Jersey a conservative in the rest of the country?” Perry asked at the time. “We’ll have that discussion at the appropriate time.”
Christie, as head of the Republican Governors Association, was in San Francisco to campaign with California gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari.
Later Friday, Christie is scheduled to travel to Park City, Utah, to attend a gathering of Republican leaders organized by former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
During the brief stop with reporters, Christie declined to weigh in on the tenure of potential Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as she tours the country to promote her new book. He gave a nod to a potential matchup, however.
“I have to tell you the truth: I don’t spend a lot of time analyzing secretary Clinton’s time at the State Department. If there comes a time when I need to, then I’ll give you my analysis then,” he said.
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