DeMint Would Be Bothered By Openly Gay President

Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said he would be troubled if the country elects an openly gay president, telling Bloomberg's Al Hunt that he finds homosexuality immoral.

"It would be bothersome to me just personally because I consider it immoral," DeMint said in a fairly provocative interview.

The South Carolina Republican, who has become the face of the Republican purity movement, expressed other socially conservative stances during his interview, including his staunch opposition to state-permitted gay marriage.

"Marriage is a religious institution. The federal government has no business redefining what it is," he said. "Governments should not be in the business of promoting a behavior that's proven to be destructive to our society."

DeMint has previously gotten in hot water for these types of remarks. As pointed out by the news site GOP12, the then-Representative caused a bit of an uproar -- even in decidedly conservative South Carolina -- when he said in 2004 that he supported banning openly gay teachers from serving in state public schools.

"I believe that's a local school board issue," DeMint later told "Meet the Press". "And, Tim [Russert], I was answering as a dad who's put lots of children in the hands of teachers and I answered with my heart. And I should just say, again, I apologize that distracted from the real debate."

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