Steve King: Gays Wouldn't Face Discrimination If They Didn't 'Wear Their Sexuality On Their Sleeve'

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) says he has a simple solution to stop employment discrimination against gay people, and it sounds a lot like "don't ask, don't tell."

During a discussion Tuesday with the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), legislation designed to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, King called the bill a "violation of the individual rights of employers to, at their own discretion, decide who they want to hire, who they want to fire."

King relayed an anecdote that outlined his solution for the problem of workplace discrimination:

And [State Sen. Jerry Behn] said, "let me ask you a question. Am I heterosexual or am I homosexual?" And they looked him up and down, actually they should have known, but they said, "We don't know." And he said, "Exactly, my point. If you don't project it, if you don't advertise it, how would anyone know to discriminate against you?" And that's at the basis of this. So if people wear their sexuality on their sleeve and then they want to bring litigation against someone that they would point their finger at and say, "You discriminate."

The legislation, King said, would serve as "entrapment that is legalized by the ENDA act," which would unfairly impact conservative businesses and organizations.

King laid out a potential scenario to back up his theory:

"I can imagine someone coming in and interviewing one day in man's clothes and come back the next day and apply for a job in woman's clothes and then setting up a lawsuit in a sting operation that could harass especially our religious organizations, but anybody, anybody that's operating in a responsible fashion."

WATCH the interview:

Comments

[JustMe98]

05:09 AM on 06/03/2010

Utterley ridiculous, how about people shouldn't have to feel like they have to hide who they are? I am 100% sure you don't. How am I so sure, I know you are married.... and to a woman... how dare you not hide that!

[Randy Shepherd]

04:46 AM on 05/30/2010

hey steve, this is from your bio on your official government web site...
"He attended Denison Community High School, where he met Marilyn Kelly, whom he married in 1972. They have lived in Kiron for 32 years and are members of St. Martin’s Church in Odebolt. Steve and Marilyn have three grown sons and three grandchildren."

stop wearing your sexuality on your sleave, and your religion too. if you want to be hired/elected, why do we need to know these things? is your family really that important, that others should know about them? hmmm, maybe my family is too.

at work i hear all the time "me and my husband did this", "i need to leave early because my kids..", and of course there are the pregnant women that walk around and just flaunt the fact they had straight sex in my face. we are not robots, people share bits of themselves with people who matter. you spend 1/3 of your life at work, why wouldn't you share minor details with co-workers at lunch about who you are. it's not like people describe the actual sex acts, that is all that pops into your mind.
"me and my partner went to the movies, it was over rated, but good". in a homophobes mind they picture two guys in bed from that, not two people with clothes on in a public therater.

[MarkAngel]

04:30 PM on 05/29/2010

To ask a effeminate homosexual or a masculine lesbian not to wear a pink shirt or a pair of jeans is unrealistic. Certainly coupled with the appropriate mannerisms, and I do mean that they should be themselves not what Rep. King thinks they should be, sexual orientations should be perfectly obvious and perfectly acceptable. I envision a day where men who are so inclined can wear a dress to work if it doesn't conflict with the dress code and the only reason it does today is because society refuses these men and women the common civil rights that every heterosexual's now enjoy. In the future it won't be "on your sleeve" it'll be "in style."

[Martyrn]

04:50 AM on 05/29/2010

I would much prefer to do my hiring as follows: Advertise position(s), recieve resumes/applications, conduct interviews, hire the people/persons best qualified for the position based on training, education, experience, etc. Personally, I really don't care whether they are white, black, green, blue, orange, straight, gay, bisexual, male, female, etc. If I actually do hire the best qualified and am truly not discriminating on the basis of anything beyond professional qualifications and legal right to employ, yet somehow my 'mix' of race, color, creed, sexual preference, etc doesn't line up with some predetermined formula, am I then guilty of discrimination?

In addition, I already thought discrimination in hiring based upon sexual preference was illegal? What are we talking about here?

[UT85]

02:40 AM on 05/29/2010

They should just visit "rentaboy.com," and get married while having intimate sex with kids on the side. Isn't that what republicans do? Live a double life, think radically, lie and support hate and greed?

[Badger84]

08:20 PM on 05/28/2010

So gays flaunt their sexuality, huh? Have you ever turned on the TV, read a magazine or looked at billboards? Try it and then answer who exactly is wearing their sexuality on their sleeve.

[NHGranite]

07:24 PM on 05/28/2010

And you, Mr King are a wife beater, we can just tell from looking at you. Very typical of those who want a very rigid society. No? When did you stop beating your wife?

[KenClay]

01:32 PM on 05/28/2010

Being an Idiot is wearing your idiocy on your sleeve!

[KenClay]

12:13 PM on 05/28/2010

I have had to wear on my sleeve Idiot and even on my finger and wrist! So what's your point? Get a Life closet case! Please stay in the closet your not welcomed in the Gay Community!

[CheapTrick]

02:13 AM on 05/28/2010

"I wouldn't call you a homo if you wouldn't act like one."

[dennyd]

08:57 AM on 05/27/2010

What an idiot--

[dennissinned]

12:40 AM on 05/22/2010

It's ignorant to suggest that all gay people wear their sexuality on their sleeves. But if you make them to not do that, then straight people should not be allowed to either. But how about we just accept people for what they are? Can you imagine a butch lesbian wearing an evening gown? It's not that unimaginable but they would look ridiculous in it. So why force them to be something they're not? Some gay guys are effeminate because that's the way they are. They can't help it. But it shouldn't form the basis for employment or hiring discrimination. Conservatives love to cling to the idea that accepting gays is tantamount to "equal opportunity" quota when it really isn't. They just don't know how to treat people who are not like them.

[KirkCLinn]

02:08 AM on 05/21/2010

I'm sorry sir but yes I do wear my sexuality on my sleeve... And your point?

[StevenKeirstead]

07:37 PM on 05/17/2010

Steve King fiddles while gay people are getting burned. Every day people are losing jobs or not getting hired because they are gay. And I mean gay, not necessarily openly gay. The closet won’t protect people from a casual slip of the tongue or being seen with their sweethearts in public, etc. ENDA is needed to protect people who live in the majority of states that still don’t ban anti-gay discrimination. It won’t lead to many cases of abuse. There are very, very few false claims of discrimination in Massachusetts, for example, which is into its 21st year of protecting gay and lesbian residents from discrimination.

[LynnW49]

03:35 PM on 05/17/2010

"If you don't project it, if you don't advertise it. . ."

Clearly this dumb guy has missed decades of movies, TVs, and advertisements all "projecting" heterosexuality.

[Peter Danbridge]

01:51 PM on 05/20/2010

He takes proud stupidity to a new level.