B.C. Conservative leader-designate John Cummins sought Sunday to clarify comments he made on CFAX radio last week that sexual orientation should not be protected under the B.C. Human Rights Act because being gay is a choice.
Cummins issued a statement apologizing for the fact that some people might have misinterpreted his comments and taken offence.
He said his use of the word “choice” was unfortunate. “It confused the meaning of my statement which was that I believe anyone can live their life in the way they want,” he wrote. “I don’t know how sexual orientation develops. That discussion is best left to experts and researchers, not politicians.”
Cummins was unavailable for an interview Sunday. But, in his statement, he appeared to stand behind comments that homosexuals do not need special human rights protections.
“All British Columbians, regardless or [sic] race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, should have the same equal opportunities and protections in our society,” he wrote. “We all should be treated equally before the law, and no group in society warrants preferential treatment.”
He added that there is no consensus in the party on these issues, “and we have no intention to change the status quo.”
Last week, Cummins said on CFAX that, as an MP, he voted against adding sexual orientation as a ground for discrimination under Canada’s Human Rights Act.
“I’m not a scientist,” but “some of the research tells me that there’s more of an indication that that’s a choice issue,” he said.
He went on to say gay people do not need special human rights protection because “people are already protected under the human rights code. In my view it was not necessary to add another category. They have the same rights under the Human Rights Act as you and I. Nobody is coming to me and saying whatever I do behind closed doors is somebody else’s business.”
Cummins is a former Conservative MP for the riding of Delta-Richmond East.
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