Having all but scuppered their 2012 election chances with a succession of less-than-progressive statements about women, rape and contraception you’d think Republican politicians would be mindful of making strong public statements on social issues, particularly on TV.
Not at all, with Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett the latest GOP member to make an on-air faux pas by comparing homosexuality to incest. In a show aired on Friday morning, Corbett was asked about a statement made by his lawyers in a recent court case in which gay marriage with likened to marriage between children. The governor quickly chimed in: "It was an inappropriate analogy, you know… I think a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don't you?"
The state of Pennsylvania currently has a ban on gay marriage and civil partnerships, a stance which is due to be challenged in the federal court.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Mark Aronchick, a lawyer looking to overturn the Pennsylvania ban, said: "In other words, some kind of incestuous relationship… He's just out of touch on this one. Gay people marry for the same reasons straight people do — to express their love and to declare their commitment before friends and family."
On Friday afternoon, Corbett’s office put out a statement apologising for "any offence caused".