Rep. Louie Gohmert: We can't restrict high-capacity magazines because gay marriage leads to bestiality

The Texas Republican got very creative -- and very offensive -- in recent remarks against gun control

Published April 2, 2013 8:50PM (EDT)

Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert started to answer a question about a ban on high-capacity magazines during a Tea Party conference call this week, but ended up talking about -- wait for it -- bestiality.

Here's what Gohmert had to say about his opposition to gun control (emphasis mine, mental acrobatics Gohmert's):

In fact, I had this discussion with some wonderful, caring Democrats earlier this week on the issue of, well, they said "surely you could agree to limit the number of rounds in a magazine, couldn't you? How would that be problematic?"

And I pointed out, well, once you make it ten, then why would you draw the line at ten? What's wrong with nine? Or eleven? And the problem is once you draw that limit ; it's kind of like marriage when you say it's not a man and a woman any more, then why not have three men and one woman, or four women and one man, or why not somebody has a love for an animal?

There is no clear place to draw the line once you eliminate the traditional marriage and it's the same once you start putting limits on what guns can be used, then it's just really easy to have laws that make them all illegal.

But comparing things he doesn't like to bestiality is kind of old hat for Gohmert. In 2009, the Lonestar State Republican warned that passing hate crime legislation named for Matthew Shepard would lead to -- you guessed it! -- bestiality. Oh, and necrophilia:

If you're oriented toward animals, bestiality, then, you know, that's not something that can be used, held against you or any bias be held against you for that. Which means you'd have to strike any laws against bestiality, if you're oriented toward corpses, toward children, you know, there are all kinds of perversions... pedophiles or necrophiliacs or what most would say is perverse sexual orientations but the trouble is, we made amendments to eliminate pedophiles from being included in the definition.

You can listen to Gohmert go off the rails about gun control and gay marriage here:

h/t Right Wing Watch


By Katie McDonough

Katie McDonough is Salon's politics writer, focusing on gender, sexuality and reproductive justice. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com.

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