Right Wing Watch had an interesting post (with video) shortly before Christmas about an interview Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt (R - Colorado's 15th District) did with Brian Camenker (MassResistance) about how "LGBT-themed clubs in public schools are bent on recruiting 'vulnerable' Christian students." To be clear, when these men talk about "recruiting," they are not referring to efforts by LGBT kids to persuade Christian kids to set aside their religiously-motivated bigotry and become more tolerant of individual differences. No, that would make far too much sense. Instead, they seem to be talking about "recruiting" straight Christian kids into the dreaded "gay lifestyle," which almost certainly includes participation in homosexual behavior. Camenker said,
And pretty soon these kids are getting involved in these really horrible behaviors, horrible things at the meetings. We've seen it up close and we've seen the anxiety that the parents go through when their kids are suddenly taken over by this.See what I mean? It certainly sounds like he's talking about sexual behavior here, doesn't it? He thinks that LGBT kids are convincing straight Christian kids that they are gay and somehow seducing them into participating in gay sex. Here we have what seems to be one of the primary fears of Christian extremists.
This idea of LGBT persons recruiting straight persons, manipulating them into thinking that they are gay and then enticing them to engage in "horrible behaviors" has been around for a while in Christian extremist circles. It has long impressed me as one of the stranger beliefs that is popular among Christian extremists, and that's really saying something. Of all the LGBT persons I have known, I have never come across one who had the slightest interest in persuading straight people to become gay. And yet, we're supposed to believe it is an epidemic of sorts.
What is interesting about these guys is that they have combined this particular fantasy with another common fear: public education. It isn't just that LGBT efforts to recruit straight people are rampant; it is that they are happening in public schools and being funded with your tax dollars! And of course, Christian kids are being targeted for recruitment too.
This seems like an awfully long way to go to justify one's bigotry, but maybe Klingenschmitt knows what he's doing. After all, Colorado voters recently rewarded him with a seat in their state Congress.
