Ohio Gov. John Kasich reluctantly told a group of San Franciscans Friday night that gay people are “probably” born that way.
“Do I think that people are, you know, born gay?” Kasich responded to a question at a town hall after being asked repeatedly by a member of the audience. “Probably. I’ve never studied the issue. But I don’t see any reason to hurt you or to discriminate you or make you feel bad or make you feel like a second-class citizen. I don’t think that’s right.”
The questioner, San Francisco resident Kelly Bryan, 62, identified himself as someone who has been openly gay for 40 years. He asked the Republican presidential candidate if the GOP would come around to supporting gay marriage and if he was reluctant to share his differentiating views because it deviated from his party’s message.
“They don’t tell me what to do about the platform,” Kasich said. “The Republican Party is my vehicle, not my master. I have a right to define the Republican Party, too.”
Kasich also called for people to “take a chill pill, relax and try to get along with one another a little bit better,” rather than pushing bills to change laws around sexual preference and gender issues.
Kelly told CNN Kasich’s response “was not really an answer.”
