Carl Paladino Is Right About Gay Pride Parades

Carl Paladino has caught a lot of flak for saying he wouldn't want his kids to see the Speedo-wearing, gyrating men that populate Gay Pride parades. And he's right, writes William Saletan for Slate. "Gay pride parades aren't the best thing to take little kids to, especially if you want them to think of homosexuals as normal people," he writes, recounting what one normally sees at such events: exposed butt cheeks and pasties galore. "You'd be better off taking them to a picnic where boring gay couples chat about one another's kids and gardens. You'd be better off, in short, if gay people were married."

Because this, argues Saletan, is where Paladino—who said on GMA "I have no reservations whatsoever about gays, except for marriage"—is truly wrong. Because "if skimpily clad pole dancers are bad models for kids, the obvious antidote is to legalize and promote gay marriage." Paladino sees people as having two choices: marriage (the "much more successful" option) and homosexuality (an option that shouldn't be viewed as "equally successful"). But Paladino has the ability to "offer young gay people the same valid and successful life he commends to straight people. He can support same-sex marriage." (More Carl Paladino stories.)