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Gay Activist Swipes Back at Joe the Plumber

Activist prez: Who cares?

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted May 7, 2009 9:21 AM CDT

(Newser) – Joe the Plumber's latest social commentary is a non-issue, according to a leading gay rights activist. “It would matter if Joe the Plumber mattered,” the Human Rights Campaign president said of Samuel Wurzelbacher’s recent labeling of gay people as “queer” as in “strange and unusual,” the AP reports. “Queer” is “not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that,” Wurzelbacher told Christianity Today.

“I’ve had some friends that are actually homosexual,” he continued. “And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they’re people, and they’re going to do their thing.”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

In this Oct. 30, 2008 file photo, Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher speaks at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. in Sandusky, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher speaks during a tax day "tea party" protest Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, and Samuel 'Joe The Plumber' Wurzelbacher arrive at a rally in Mentor, Ohio, Oct. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

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People don't understand the dictionary—it's called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It's not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that. You know, God is pretty explicit.
- Samuel Wurzelbacher

It would matter if Joe the Plumber mattered. One thing among many things we learned in the 2008 campaign is that he doesn't. - Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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Gay Activist Swipes Back at Joe the Plumber