Minnesota Republican rep.: LGBT 'lifestyle' is 'an unhealthy, sexual addiction'

Minnesota state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen (R) says that he opposes marriage rights for LGBT people because he believes that homosexuality is a choice and a "sexual addiction."

Supporters of same sex marriage in Minnesota on Wednesday introduced a bill to legalize marriage equality after voters defeated a GOP effort to pass a constitutional ban last November.

"It would simply allow folks who so desire, who have demonstrated a lifetime of love and commitment, to get married, even if they're a same sex couple," state Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL) explained at a press conference.

But according to the StarTribune, Gruenhagen on Wednesday argued that LGBT people did not deserve the same rights as heterosexual couples.

"It’s an unhealthy, sexual addiction," the Republican lawmaker insisted. "When we're talking about gay marriage, we're not talking about an immutable characteristic, like the color of your skin. The human genome map was completed in 2003, there is no gay gene, okay? So, the concept that you're born that way and that it's an immutable characteristic is an unscientific lie."

"The facts are in on that," he added. "That's not really disputable, and to continue to report that people are born that way simply does not line up with repeatable, observable scientific facts."

Republican state Sen. Dan Hall, who has served as a chaplain at the Capitol and directed the Capitol Prayer Network, vowed to "go to jail before I ever perform a gay marriage to a homosexual."

It was not immediately clear if the supporters had the votes necessary to pass marriage equality in Minnesota.

Watch the following video from the StarTribune, broadcast Feb. 27, 2013.

(h/t: Talking Points Memo)