VIDEO: Conservative analogy between second-hand smoke and homosexuality gets national laugh

Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert singled out the Iowa conservative organization The Family Leader and its president, Bob Vander Plaats, for their renewed interest in comparing the public health risks of homosexuality to second-hand smoke.

When initially asked about the seminar series that was held by the Iowa Family Policy Center, an organization now under the umbrella of The Family Leader, Vander Plaats claimed in February that he and his organization were not involved. Days after that pronouncement The Family Leader was asked by The Iowa Independent why it still had links from its website to the seminar series. The links were subsequently removed.

Last week, however, during a whistle stop in Ames, Vander Plaats indicated that he agreed with the overall premise of the seminars, that homosexuality is a public health threat just like second-hand smoke. The assertion is one that Iowa Sen. Kent Sorenson, a tea party favorite known for his hard-line stances on social issues, referred to as “absurd.”

The news was obviously too interesting for Colbert to ignore:

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