Trends Reporter, HuffPost
Donald Trump-endorsed Georgia congressional candidate Vernon Jones said Thursday that civil rights don’t apply to the gay community because he insisted that gay people “can actually change” to become straight.
And if they do that, they also apparently don’t need any civil rights protections, Jones indicated.
“Civil rights for Blacks, and gay rights for gays are two different things,” Jones declared to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on his “War Room” podcast.
“I don’t know what you are unless you tell me what you are if you’re gay. When I walk into that room, you can tell that I’m Black. I’m Black from cradle to grave,” Jones said. “Let’s not get that confused.”
He added: “They can actually change. You know you can go from being straight to being gay to being transgender and all these other genders. When you’re Black, I don’t have a choice. … When did gays come over here on [slave] ships?”
Trump-endorsed congressional candidate Vernon Jones says, “civil rights for blacks and gay rights for gays are two different things,” because gays can choose to be straight if they want to. “When did gays come over here in ships?” pic.twitter.com/B0fye9gG1m
Jones also tried to drive a wedge between advocates for gay rights and anti-racists with a tweet.
The Left wants to compare being black to being gay.
And let me make one thing clear: that’s not just a lie.
It’s a damn lie. MLK didn’t fight for the right to read to children dressed up as a woman; he fought for REAL equality! Don’t confuse it!
Jones has hit a few snags in his campaign.
Former House Speaker House Newt Gingrich released a video endorsing Jones earlier this week, then flip-flopped hours later and released a video backing his GOP rival Mike Collins, CNN reported. The Gingrich team blamed “junior staff” for the mix-up, but it was clearly Gingrich who spoke on the contradictory videos.
Jones and Collins are running for an open House seat against a large field of Republican candidates.
Jones, now a Republican, was a keynote speaker at the 2020 Republican National Convention, and boasted of his support for Trump in the presidential election. But he voted Democratic in the primary, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last month. He also served as a Democratic state representative in Georgia.
Trump in an endorsement video called Jones “an America-first fighter, who will never back down to the establishment or the radical left.”
Jones’ comments on Bannon’s podcast and his tweet drove Twitter critics bonkers.
MLK worked closely with Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man, while Coretta Scott King was a gay ally. So I find Vernon Jones’ claims to be false, and also hubristic. How dare he claim to speak for Dr. King? #GOPLiesAboutEverything
I can’t choose to be gay, because I am not. Gay people can’t choose to be straight for the same reason.
So Vernon Jones chose to be straight? Please share with us that momentous event Vernon Jones.
I did not realize that civil rights only apply to “those who come here in ships”.
Odds are there were gays on those ships since they exist in every society everywhere throughout all time
Why does he have to separate human rights into categories?
We are all humans and we all deserve EQUAL rights
Here is the trick… civil rights is a fancy way of saying “freedom for all, not just freedom for a selected class.”
Hey Vernon, just 3 weeks ago, a Republican said you should not be allowed to marry anyone who is not black. The #GOP was silent.#VernonJones, is that okay w/ u? https://t.co/948axJH2RR
Trends Reporter, HuffPost