Homosexuality Is The Result Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, According To Richard Land

Richard Land, formerly of the Southern Baptist Convention, offered up some eyebrow-raising remarks about the gay community while filling in for Washington Watch host Tony Perkins earlier this week.

Land, who sparked controversy in 2012 when he accused President Barack Obama of exploiting Trayvon Martin's death for political gain, linked homosexuality to sexual abuse in a discussion with Donna Rice Hughes of the anti-pornography group Enough Is Enough, Right Wing Watch first reported.

"I know that the dirty little secret that nobody wants to talk about is that a high percentage of adult male homosexuals in America were sexually molested when they were children,” he said. "Anybody who's a counselor...will tell you that."

He then added, "You have to be just as careful chaperoning your young boys as you do chaperoning your young girls."

The comments are perhaps less surprising given Land's track record. In 2011, he warned that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates were aiming to "reduce [Christians] to the level of the Ku Klux Klan," according to Right Wing Watch.

Earlier this year, he announced, "“It’s not that we hate gays, it’s that we love Scripture and love gays enough to tell them what the truth is, and the truth is that God does not condone same-sex sexual relations, period."

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this article suggested that Land was currently with the Southern Baptist Convention. He retired from his position as president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in 2013.