In 2004 Then-Minnesota Senator Michele Bachmann Called Homosexuality “Personal Bondage” And “Sexual Anarchy”

CBS News reports that Michele Bachmann’s emergence as one of the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination has meant increased scrutiny for the socially-conservative Minnesota representative. Her beliefs on homosexuality, in particular, have come under the microscope - despite the fact that Bachmann has repeatedly refused to discuss them since entering the presidential race. Bachmann's beliefs have come under scrutiny because of her past record on gay issues as well as her family's source of income. While in the Minnesota statehouse, Bachmann championed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Her husband, Marcus Bachmann, runs a Christian counselling clinic where some patients say they were offered therapy on converting from gay to straight; hidden camera footage taken by a gay rights group shows a councillor at the clinic telling one man that "God has created you for heterosexuality." Marcus Bachmann is on record comparing homosexuals to "barbarians" who "need to be educated," but he has denied that his clinic engages in such therapy, which mental health professionals say is ineffective and harmful. Bachmann's campaign - and Bachmann herself - has declined to answer repeated requests from CBS News for an explanation of her beliefs about homosexuality. But in 2004, when she was a state senator, Bachmann gave an hour-long speech outlining her opinions at the time. Audio from the speech was posted earlier this year by an anti-Bachmann website called dumpbachmann.com, which identified the venue as the EdWatch.com National Education Conference. Bachmann is introduced by name in the recording, and there is little question that she is the speaker. CBSNews.com has excerpted a few of the more controversial comments in the video above; you can listen to the full speech here. Some of Bachmann's comments from the speech have been reported by mainstream media outlets, including Bachmann's characterization of homosexuality as "part of Satan." Yet others have attracted little notice. Bachmann says in the speech that she is not "bashing" people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, saying "we need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders," continuing that “It's sad. Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle - we have a member of our family that is - this is not funny. It's a very sad life." Bachmann has a stepsister who is gay. She goes on to say that it is "profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life." Bachmann goes on to argue that legalizing same-sex marriage - which she describes as "bringing it into the mainstream if you will, giving it a legitimacy" - will impact all Americans, "particularly the schools." She says it means teachers will be forced to teach "sexual identity" in a way that suggests homosexuality is acceptable. "What's the first thing we look at when a baby is born?" Bachmann asks. "Is it a boy, is it as girl -- one of the first items of identity. Knowing that when God created us we were created in his image, in his likeness, and then children would have to be taught a falsehood because they're in a captive audience in the public schools, they couldn't get out." Later, Bachmann says being "involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle" amounts to "personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement." She also describes it as "sexual anarchy." She goes on to lament efforts by gay rights advocates to convince Americans that homosexuality is "just another thing, with a shrug of their shoulders." Bachmann complains that people like her have been cast as hateful thanks to a media focus on people like antigay activist Rev. Fred Phelps. She says supporters of "the gay cause," by contrast, "come off looking very insightful and very thoughtful." She goes on to complain that gay causes get donations from companies like Proctor and Gamble, saying she no longer uses the company's products because it encouraged its employees to work on behalf of same-sex marriage. Bachmann also complains about claims that homosexuality is immutable, saying, "you need to know there is not one scientific study anywhere that has shown that this is an immutable physical characteristic."