Governor Rick Perry, who may or may not be toying with another presidential bid, let it be known last night at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco that he's still very much an anachronism when it comes to the gay issue. He compared homosexuality to alcoholism, and proved once again that he's your homophobic grandfather's favorite candidate.

After the Texas Republican Party adopted a platform of supporting "reparative therapy" for LGBT people this month, he was asked by interviewer Greg Dalton if he believed in the therapy, and if he thought homosexuality was a disorder.

His response:

Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that. I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.

According to the Chronicle, "the comment still drew a murmur of disbelief" despite the room being filled with a number of Perry supporters. The L.A. Times characterized the reaction as "a smattering of groans and hisses."

Perry was in California on a quest to lure more jobs and businesses to Texas, as KPIX reports. He also had the nerve in a speech in Sacramento to try to convince Tesla Motors to build their new $5 billion battery factory in Texas.

In other news, when asked about climate change, Perry didn't admit that it exists but he still insisted that the only answer to solving it lies in the free market. So, obviously he's been keeping up with the news these last few years.

[LA Times]
[SF Chronicle]
[KPIX/CBS]
[ABC]