Minn. Republican lawmaker: Homosexuality is not 'normal behavior'

The Republican candidate for Minnesota state House District 8B says that voters should enshrine marriage discrimination in the state's constitution because homosexuality is not "normal behavior."

During a debate on Thursday, Minnesota state Rep. Mary Franson (R) was asked if she supported a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage, which is already not legally recognized in the state.

"You know, under current state law it is illegal for a man and a man or a female and a female to get married," she explained. "The constitutional amendment doesn't change anything that is in state law. All it does is give the voters a chance to decide how they want to define marriage. How do they see marriage?"

Franson added that if the amendment was passed then there would be "consequences" for public education.

"My concerns are that our children in our schools could be taught some liberal agendas because of the marriage amendment," she insisted. "Because in the schools they may be taught that, this is normal behavior. I personally do not believe it is."

Franson's opponent, Alexandria coach and teacher Bob Cunniff (DFL), refused to take a stand on the amendment, but said schools don't "don't try to influence people on their way of thinking in that respect."

"Massachusetts, as a matter of fact, right after the 2003 court ruling [legalizing marriage equality] there was a school-wide assembly celebrating same sex marriage," Franson noted. "Then, and a few months later, the middle school was celebrating same sex marriage. And a year after that bill passed, schools went as far as elementary children having celebrations of the same-sex marriage, of gay pride. School books in Massachusetts, also in the libraries had this issue as normalizing it for our young children."

"And that's something that I wish to protect our children from," she concluded.

Voters go to the polls in November to decide if a ban on same sex marriage should be added to the state's Constitution. A survey released by Public Policy Polling earlier this month found that 48 percent supported the amendment and 47 percent opposed it.

Franson came under fire earlier this year when she released a YouTube video comparing food-stanp recipients to wild animals.

Watch this video from Pioneer Public TV (via City Pages), broadcast Sept. 20, 2012.