Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) on Thursday made news after repeatedly demanding to know CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s views on gay sex at his confirmation hearing to become Secretary of State.
Booker cited a speech Pompeo gave as a congressman in 2015 at a church, in which he quoted words a pastor had once delivered before the Kansas State Legislature.
“America had worshipped other Gods and called it multiculturalism. We’d endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle,” Pompeo had said.
Booker then repeatedly asked Pompeo: “Is being gay a perversion?”
Pompeo responded that as a politician he had a “very clear view” on whether it was appropriate for two same sex persons to get married. “I stand by that,” he said.
“So you do not think it is appropriate for two gay people to marry?” Booker said.
Pompeo responded, “Senator, I continue to hold that view.”
Booker then suggested that Pompeo’s views would be a problem, saying that he had met people at the State Department in Africa who were in same-sex marriages.
“We have married gay couples at the CIA, you should know, I treated them with the exact same set of rights — ,” Pompeo said before being cut off by Booker repeatedly.
“You believe gay sex is a perversion, yes or no?” Booker demanded, and Pompeo tried to answer. “Yes or no, do you believe that gay sex is a perversion? … Yes or no, do you believe gay sex is a perversion?”
Pompeo said he was going to give him the same answer. “My respect for every individual regardless of their sexual orientation is the same,” he said.
Booker said that as Secretary of State he would be representing America at a time “hate acts” were increasing in the U.S.
The Huffington Post published a story in 2013 that seemed to question Booker’s sexual orientation, citing an interview he gave to the Washington Post:
“Booker, who recently won the Democratic primary for a special upcoming Senate election, is 44 and unmarried and does not speak publicly about his personal life. But, the mayor tells the Washington Post that he doesn’t mind the gay rumors that have bubbled up from time to time during his political career:
“…People who think I’m gay, some part of me thinks it’s wonderful. Because I want to challenge people on their homophobia. I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I’m gay, and I say, ‘So what does it matter if I am? So be it. I hope you are not voting for me because you are making the presumption that I’m straight.’ ”
“This isn’t the first time ‘gay’ and Booker’s name have appeared in the same sentence,” the Huffington Post wrote.
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