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State Senator Scott Renfroe spoke his mind on the Senate floor Monday. And many people didn’t like what he had to say.
Speaking against legislation that would extend health-care benefits for the partners of gay and lesbian state workers, Renfroe quoted Bible scripture in denouncing the bill and homosexuality in general.
“We are taking sins and making them to be legally okay, and that is wrong. That is an abomination, according to scripture,” Renfroe said. “I’m not saying this is the only sin that’s out there. We have murder. We have all sorts of sin. We have adultery. And we don’t make laws making those legal, and we would never think to make murder legal.
“All sin is equal. That sin there is equal to any other sin that’s in the Bible, from wandering eyes to coveting your neighbor’s things.”
A deacon in the Evangelical Free Church of Eaton, Renfroe quoted Bible passages calling homosexuality “an abomination” and “a detestable act” punishable by death.
Renfroe’s comments have sparked outrage among LGBT rights groups and liberal groups such as ProgressNow Colorado. Even some of Renfroe’s Republican colleagues in the legislature are privately dismayed over his remarks. One conservative blogger has called for Renfroe’s resignation.
Renfroe has long been a vocal opponent of what he’s referred to as “the homosexual agenda.”
And, in the end, Renfroe’s words failed to stir his colleagues: The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday with a 22-12-1 vote.