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Jun 23, 2014 4 min read

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s at it again. You have to wonder if he’ll come down with foot-and-mouth disease, all of the times he’s stuck his foot in his mouth.

Oh, wait. I just checked, and medical scientists say only cloven-hoofed animals can contract foot-and-mouth disease. And one thing I do more than many Republicans is to trust science.

That brings me back to Rick Perry, his fellow Republicans and medical science. Recently, the Texas Republican Party adopted a platform that endorses so-called “reparative therapy” as an option for homosexuals who “are seeking escape from the homosexual ‘lifestyle.'” That’s so wrong in so many ways.

First, it’s been widely reported that the American Psychological Association has debunked such gay conversion therapies as a viable means of turning gay people straight. And further, a task force has found that such efforts could lead to distress and anxiety. Sort of like when a Republican misplaces their TV remote after they’ve turned on MSNBC.

To be honest, the language in the Texas State Republican Party’s platform isn’t designed to impose “reparative therapy” on uncooperative gay people. You gotta give credit where credit is due, I suppose.

The Texas Republican Party does get credit for that. BUT, it loses that credit, since committee members claimed that “reparative therapy” should be recognized for its “legitimacy and efficacy.” They just couldn’t leave well enough alone.

With state after state allowing gay marriage or with court after court striking down (Republican-backed) laws that have been crafted to prevent it, those Texas Republicans seem mighty out of step with the rest of the country.

Enter Rick Perry. He’s a guy who’s been known to explain things that require further explanations that need even more explanations.

He appeared at something called the Commonwealth Club of California, and he chose to try to explain his state Republican Party’s controversial platform plank. It didn’t go well.

“Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that,” he said.

Now let’s look at the word “lifestyle.” “Lifestyle” implies that homosexuality, in and of itself, is not a state of one’s existence like, say, baldheadedness or left-handedness. Most psychologists would tell you that’s not the case.

I don’t have the ability to overcome my baldheaded “lifestyle.” Believe me, I’ve already tried that. The result made me pull out my hair.

If that first Rick Perry sentence wasn’t enough, he added, “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.”

Well, well, well. He’s dumber than I thought! By Perry matter-of-factly comparing alcoholism to homosexuality, he’s claiming it’s a condition that can be overcome.

Hey, I use reading classes when I read and write. You could say I engage in the “visually impaired lifestyle.”

If I take off my glasses (only because I want to overcome that lifestyle), my next sentence might look like this: Lkjq[0 G Asdfasdfjkl; Fblpksiokje Republicans! See what I mean?

Wanting people to be something other than who they are is not the role of any political party. Especially since that party has great difficulty attracting people who aren’t white and male.

But Texas isn’t the only place where Republicans are ignoring the fact that gay Americans are still voters. There’s a 2013 Pew Research poll that indicates that nearly one in five LGBT adults experience unfair treatment by their employers. Such sentiments have caused the Obama administration to sign an order that bans anti-gay discrimination among federal contractors.

Of course, as with any order signed by President Obama, it didn’t take long for a Republican to find a supposed flaw.

“I’m not even sure that this is a problem. I don’t know that I’ve ever received a phone call in my office from somebody that says they’ve been discriminated against based on their sexual orientation,” says Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)

Cramer is running for re-election. Maybe Rick Perry can explain him out of this one.

Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-yyear veteran of television news. Email him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net