I live in Canada. Our federal election will take place on October 14, and it looks like the Conservative Government lead by Stephen (don't call me Bush Jr.) Harper will be returning to power.
Far more conservative than Mr. Harper is a candidate running in Sudbury, Ontario. David Popescu is an independent candidate, thus he is not muzzled by party leadership. He claims his platform is based on his Christian belief. It is interesting (and incredibly scary) to hear what religious-zealot politicians say when they don't have to answer to a political hierarchy.
This guy makes Palin look run of the mill sane. I wonder if it is because she doesn't hold the same beliefs or if she is able to filter her inner secrets from the media.
The article from which the following quotes were taken can be found at http://cnews.canoe.ca/...
Mr. Popescu gave the following responses at a candidates' forum at Sudbury Secondary School.
When asked about stem cell research, his response was:
God would hurt those who had an abortion.
When asked about gay marraige, which is legal in Canada, his response was:
"A young man asked me what I think of homosexual marriages and I said I think homosexuals should be executed," he said. "My whole reason for running is the Bible and the Bible couldn't be more clear on that point."
Being a Catholic myself, I am quite amazed to find out about the Bible's clarity on the killing of homosexuals. Perhaps it is because I am more of New Testament kind of guy.
Unfortunately, the principal did not immediately have Mr. Popsescu escorted from the school. In fact, the principal remarked:
"We're here today to hear what the candidates have to say," he said in an interview. "As an inclusive school, we respect all other opinion although we may not agree with them — and I know there were definitely some things said today that we don't agree with."
I think the students could have learned much more from a principal who would admit that some people are nuts and their opinions need not be respected. At least the police do not exercise the same moral relativism the principal does. They are too busy investigating whether Mr. Popescu should be charged for his comments:
Police are investigating whether an independent federal candidate committed a hate crime by telling high school students homosexuals should be executed.
My hope is that Mr. Popescu's comments are not held my many Christian fundamentalists politicians.