Huckabee Blames Gays, âShrimp Eatersâ For Violence
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is attracting witheringÂ criticismÂ today for linking recent mass shootings to homosexuality and the rapid rise in American shellfish consumption. On hisÂ eponymousÂ radio show today theÂ ordainedÂ Babtist minister said that "pro-homosexual" and "pro-crustacean" sentiments in America's culture were eroding the country's Judeo-Christian moral values, leading to increasingly disturbing mass violence.Â  Huckabee's bizarreÂ comments come just days after he said school shootings are the result of "systematically removing God from our schools", a reference to the fact that since a 1962 Supreme Court ruling it has been illegal to forceÂ childrenÂ in public schools to pray. God Hates Shrimp Most Americans are familiar with ChristianÂ prejudiceÂ against gays. However, Huckabee's comments regarding crustaceans reveal another disturbingÂ facetÂ of Biblical fundamentalism.Â Although the Christian bible does not once mention abortion, contraception, or gay marriage - it does expressly forbid the consumption of shellfish inÂ Deuteronomy 14:9-10: "These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you." To anÂ increasingÂ number of American evangelicals, the widespread acceptance of shrimp, lobster, crab, crayfish, and other forbidden foods is a sign of a deeply ungodly moral culture gone badlyÂ awry. On air today Huckabee rejected several reasonable action plans - including calls for more gun control,Â increasedÂ mental health care spending, and betterÂ securityÂ at schools - and argued that only a blanket ban on homosexuality and shrimp has any hope of preventing more tragedies: "Sure we can ban assault rifles, force ourÂ psychoticÂ students to take anti-psychotics, and ask our schools to lock their windows. And sure, that might prevent more mass shootings. But we wouldn't be getting to the root cause of the violence - America's declining moral culture." "The bible expressly forbids homosexuality and the consumption of shellfish. And yet we thumb our noses at God with gay bars like Sizzlers and Long Lohn Silvers, and seafood restaurants like Red Lobster and Bubba Gump Shrimp." "Is it any surprise our children learn from our ungodly example? Its kinda hard to ask them to obey God's maxim of 'thou shalt not kill' when we can't even obey his simple wish to keep these filthy scaleless sea creatures off our plates." Out of His Shell Huckabee then called for a complete ban on eating shellfish, and suggested that the government offer gays freeÂ conversionÂ therapy in an effort to change their ways: "Of course the worst thing in the world is the gay shrimp eater. These people are dirtiest sinners among us, and their presenceÂ in society makes it very difficult to build a culture based on Christ's love and peace." "I think itsÂ relativelyÂ easy to ban shrimp and other shellfish. We could do that in an afternoon. But homosexuality will be more difficult to cure. I think we need to seriously think about offering gays free conversion therapy, so that even the poorest among them can afford toÂ commitÂ to God." A spokesperson for gay rights group Human Rights Campaign said Huckabee's remarks were "bigoted, out-of-date, and frankly just stupid." A spokesperson for Bubba Gump Shrimp called Hukabee's statements "ridiculous" and suggested some Americans should actually be eating more seafood: "Mr. Huckabee could use moreÂ shrimpÂ in his diet. Its low in saturated fat, and high in Omega-3's - which are supposed to make you smarter."