Video: Rick Perry condemns gays in military while children “cannot celebrate Christmas”
A presidential campaign advert released this week by Rick Perry depicts him saying there is “something wrong with our country” when gays can serve in the military, but children cannot “celebrate Christmas or pray in school”.
The video, titled “Strong”, is part of the campaign by the Republican governor of Texas to win his party’s presidential nomination.
Pausing as he walks uphill, he says: “I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.
“As President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage.
“Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again.
“I’m Rick Perry and I approve this message.”
Comments are disabled on the video’s Youtube page, but at the time of publication, 97.7% of its ratings were negative.
Perry has said he supports individual states exercising their right to introduce same-sex marriage, but added that he would support a federal constitutional amendment to take that right away.
An earlier campaign video entitled Proven Leadership drew controversy in September when it appeared to include a shot of an abandoned Australian bus depot in a montage of empty American streets and restaurants.
