Manny Pacquiao Opposes Barack Obama On Gay Marriage Over Religious Beliefs

Boxer Manny Pacquiao listens during a news conference, Feb. 23, 2012, in New York, to promote an upcoming fight against Tim Bradley Jr.

Manny Pacquiao is speaking out against an opponent with an even longer reach than Floyd Mayweather Jr. In an interview with the National Conservative Examiner, the boxing champion -- who is also a politician in the Philippines -- criticized President Barack Obama's stance on same-sex marriage, going as far to evoke the Old Testament cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

"God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other," Pacquiao told The Examiner. "It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old."

These statements come several months after Sports Illustrated reported that Pacquiao had "publicly recommitted himself to Christianity" ahead of his upcoming fight with Timothy Bradley.

The 33-year-old Pacquiao hasn't shied away from voicing his religious views lately. Pacquiao also told a radio station back in March that he had a dream in which God told him to retire soon. His latest remarks come shortly after Obama declared his support for gay marriage last week in an interview with ABC at the White House.

Pacquiao, a congressman in the Philippines, has jumped into the world of U.S. politics before.

Days before defeating Antonio Margarito in November of 2010, Pacquiao campaigned for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and California Governor Jerry Brown in Las Vegas. He even told the Los Angeles Times that he helped them win their elections.

Pacquiao met Obama when he visited the White House as one of Reid's guests in February of last year. According to the Associated Press, Reid said he felt compelled to introduce Pacquaio to Obama due to the boxer's enthusiastic following in the U.S.

A few months after his visit, Pacquiao opposed a bill in the Philippines that would mandate government support for contraceptives and family planning advice.

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Comments

[troyrobertdavid]

02:20 PM on 05/17/2012

The only argument people have against gay marriage is “God says so.” Well too bad for you, laws here in the US do not depend on God’s so called word. Your religious beliefs are not mine and I should not be forced to live by them.

[indietom]

04:35 AM on 05/17/2012

"He's publicly recommitted himself to Christianity..."

Apparently, he's not only converted to a born again Christian, he's converted from being a liberal to a conservative. Both seem to go hand in hand.

[InABox]

10:58 PM on 05/16/2012

I'm pretty sure Obama isn't losing sleep over this clown's opinions.

[10million]

10:33 PM on 05/16/2012

Heaven forbid you disagree with the President on gay marriage. He better reconsider or else he might be banned from The Grove...oops too late. Please Calgon come and take the world away.

[WeWillWin]

10:22 PM on 05/16/2012

This is how the Catholic Church would have us all think.

[10million]

10:33 PM on 05/16/2012

Great reply. You couldn't have made less sense.

[GWBear]

09:20 PM on 05/16/2012

Who cares!!!!

Media, start doing your jobs right! That includes learning what is real news and what's a useless distraction! Is every person that has even a little fame going to get an article? Whether for or against Obama, what a sports personality thinks of the president matters not at all!!

[Leto II]

06:14 PM on 05/16/2012

People are getting worked up about this for no reason. Does anyone think Filipinos would care what Mayweather thinks about political issues in the Phillipines?

[liberal53]

05:26 PM on 05/16/2012

After a decade of gambling and womanizing given his successful campaigns, MP turns over a moralistic leaf and now believes that being gay should lead to death....total hypocrisy. Mayweather may prove true that MP is not the sharpest knife in the kitchen.... so sad.

[Leto II]

06:08 PM on 05/16/2012

You give Floyd Mayweather credibilty?

[liberal53]

04:05 PM on 05/17/2012

nope... have I with the word "may"?

[eays steve]

02:19 PM on 05/16/2012

worry about your own country pac-man. Big up's to Money Mayweather.

[MobahoJoe]

01:12 PM on 05/16/2012

Normally I would verbally destroy someone who made a comment like that, especially if they came from America where they should know better. However, Manny comes from a different world altogether. The Philippines is dominated by the Catholic Church in terms of politics and culture. It is literally like Medieval Europe. Divorce is illegal, abortion is illegal. It is an island nation with 93 million people. That is three times the population of California. If he stood up for gay marriage I would be stunned. He is a cultural icon there and to go against the beliefs of the people would be ruinous for him. So you have to take it with a grain of salt.

[haydengr]

02:01 PM on 05/16/2012

This is what i was thinking immediately, you cant really blame someone that grew up with an insufficient education surrounded by people refusing to be different from one another.

[LamAng]

12:32 PM on 05/16/2012

Another conservative hypocrite. You are not exactly the right person to say anything about the sanctity of marriage. Try to understand what a bigot is first.

[pucpaul]

12:32 PM on 05/16/2012

Let's see what his opinion is in about 20 yrs, or if he has one, or can even remember what he's talking about.

[RusStyles]

11:57 AM on 05/16/2012

I'm through with Pacman...he's gone way off the reservation now by saying gay men should be put to death. That's an evil statement. I've lost all respect for the man.

[Matt Selinger]

12:47 PM on 05/16/2012

I have too. I have been a Pacquiao fan for years. However, this kind of hate spewing is the biggest turn off. It makes me ill and sad that somebody I respected would have those feelings (which of course he is entitled to) and then blast it out in the media with such Nazi-like vitriol.

Sad and ugly.

[RusStyles]

02:05 PM on 05/16/2012

One poster claims this was a misquote, but I haven't found anything--yet--that disputes he stated this. But, even if he was misquoted regarding executing gay men, he has made enough homophobic comments that's turned me off...

[Leto II]

06:10 PM on 05/16/2012

Um, he's a boxer. Nobody should be giving creedence to anything he says. Move on. Nothing to see here.

[IbiVonTates]

11:47 AM on 05/16/2012

Who care's what a Filipino thinks about our president's feelings on basic civil rights?

[Red Five Standing By]

11:02 AM on 05/16/2012

Libs had no problem with President Calderón giving his opinion on the issue of illegals crossing our borders. Libs should have no problem wtih Pacquiao giving his opinion on this issue.

[shadowmoon55]

12:08 PM on 05/16/2012

Yeah he has the right to say what he wants. We also have the right to disagree with him.

[AdamWest1313]

12:38 AM on 05/17/2012

We don't have a problem with him giving his opinion. We have a problem with his opinion. Huge difference.