Hate group leader: 'Open homosexuality' caused Secret Service scandal

The leader of an anti-LGBT rights group on Monday said a scandal where Secret Service agents were caught with female prostitutes in Columbia was actually the fault of "open homosexuality in our military."

Speaking to conservative radio host Janet Mefferd, Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council — a hate group, according the the Southern Poverty Law Center — connected the prostitution scandal to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

"Just for a moment step back and look at the implications of this, over the weekend we saw the news of the President’s Secret Service detail in Colombia and the issue of them hiring prostitutes and now the White House is outraged about that," Perkins observed. "It was actually legal; it was legal there to do that, so why should we be upset? Well, the fact is we intuitively know it’s wrong, there’s a moral law against that."

"The same is true for what the President has done to the military enforcing open homosexuality in our military," he continued. "You can change the law but you can’t change the moral law that’s behind it."

"So what you have is you have a total breakdown and you can’t pick and choose. Morality is not a smorgasbord; you can’t pick what you want. I think you’re absolutely right, this is a fundamental issue going forward because if we say ‘let them do what we want,’ what’s next? You cannot maintain moral order if you are willing to allow a few things to slide."

At least 11 Secret Service agents were placed on leave over the weekend after they were accused of bringing prostitutes to their hotel room in Cartagena, Colombia.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said on Tuesday that Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan had informed her that as many as 21 women were brought to the hotel where agents and members of the military were staying last week prior to President Barack Obama's arrival in the country.

Listen to the audio below from The Janet Mefferd Show, broadcast April 16, 2012.

(h/t: Right Wing Watch)