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New Senatorial candidate takes stance on homosexuality
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill Hillary Clinton's seat in January, knows that she is facing a primary challenge in 2010 from U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
She may also be interested to learn that Saratoga Springs resident Tom Torgesen plans to challenge her as well.
Torgesen called me earlier today to talk about gay men and women in the Navy. He said that Gillibrand spoke yesterday about "forcing homosexuals into the Navy" (his words are in quotation marks in this post), and he was calling me to say that he was staunchly opposed to that position. For the record, I was unable to find any news coverage of Gillibrand's discussion of this topic, and her press office stated that she has not addressed the matter publicly in some time. But, that is neither her nor there.
This blog post is about a senatorial candidate's position on the issue of gay men and women serving in the Navy.
Why doesn't Torgesen think the Navy should be made to accept gay men and women?
"It's a sin. Homosexuals, according to God's word, can't make a sound judgement. Most guys in the Navy don't want homosexuals in the Navy. They're doing the fighting, so we should give them what they want," said Torgesen.
What if gay men and women want to be allowed to fight for their country?
"Find another place to go, find another country. Homosexuality is from Hell, we don't need any Hell in the Navy."
Torgesen said to me that God's word should be used to govern the nation, and when I asked him about the first amendment to the Constitution, which is generally interpreted as creating a separation between church and state, he refused to answer my question, calling it "unlearned."
Torgesen said that he served in the Navy from 1970 to 1977. As a man running for public office, and a rather high one at that, I thought he might like to discuss his service in greater detail, so I asked him where he served.
He responded with a question: "Have you served in the Navy?"
I have not.
"Then I'm not telling you a damn thing."
Imagine what would have happened if John McCain had offered this response when asked about his time in the military during Vietnam. Same for John Kerry. Perhaps, like George W. Bush, Torgesen only did a brief stint in a reserve unit and is embarrassed to admit it. Who knows. If he did see active duty, he's not talking about it, at least not to me.
As a candidate for Senate, I am also concerned about Torgesen assertion that, if elected, he would ask to be placed on active duty.
"I don't believe in sending men or women into battle and sitting behind a desk. George Washington set the example."
In one final twist to the conversation, Torgesen refused to give me his phone number. No candidate for any post has ever previously refused to give me their phone number. Most offer it up freely, in hopes that I'll call to write more about them. Instead, he asked me to drop by his home.
No matter, the white pages took care of things for me.
Tom Torgesen is running for Senate. If you would like more information on his campaign, write to Tom Torgesen, 258 Caroline Street. Or, call (518) 587-2719.
By the way, he says he's a Democrat.
She may also be interested to learn that Saratoga Springs resident Tom Torgesen plans to challenge her as well.
Torgesen called me earlier today to talk about gay men and women in the Navy. He said that Gillibrand spoke yesterday about "forcing homosexuals into the Navy" (his words are in quotation marks in this post), and he was calling me to say that he was staunchly opposed to that position. For the record, I was unable to find any news coverage of Gillibrand's discussion of this topic, and her press office stated that she has not addressed the matter publicly in some time. But, that is neither her nor there.
This blog post is about a senatorial candidate's position on the issue of gay men and women serving in the Navy.
Why doesn't Torgesen think the Navy should be made to accept gay men and women?
"It's a sin. Homosexuals, according to God's word, can't make a sound judgement. Most guys in the Navy don't want homosexuals in the Navy. They're doing the fighting, so we should give them what they want," said Torgesen.
What if gay men and women want to be allowed to fight for their country?
"Find another place to go, find another country. Homosexuality is from Hell, we don't need any Hell in the Navy."
Torgesen said to me that God's word should be used to govern the nation, and when I asked him about the first amendment to the Constitution, which is generally interpreted as creating a separation between church and state, he refused to answer my question, calling it "unlearned."
Torgesen said that he served in the Navy from 1970 to 1977. As a man running for public office, and a rather high one at that, I thought he might like to discuss his service in greater detail, so I asked him where he served.
He responded with a question: "Have you served in the Navy?"
I have not.
"Then I'm not telling you a damn thing."
Imagine what would have happened if John McCain had offered this response when asked about his time in the military during Vietnam. Same for John Kerry. Perhaps, like George W. Bush, Torgesen only did a brief stint in a reserve unit and is embarrassed to admit it. Who knows. If he did see active duty, he's not talking about it, at least not to me.
As a candidate for Senate, I am also concerned about Torgesen assertion that, if elected, he would ask to be placed on active duty.
"I don't believe in sending men or women into battle and sitting behind a desk. George Washington set the example."
In one final twist to the conversation, Torgesen refused to give me his phone number. No candidate for any post has ever previously refused to give me their phone number. Most offer it up freely, in hopes that I'll call to write more about them. Instead, he asked me to drop by his home.
No matter, the white pages took care of things for me.
Tom Torgesen is running for Senate. If you would like more information on his campaign, write to Tom Torgesen, 258 Caroline Street. Or, call (518) 587-2719.
By the way, he says he's a Democrat.
posted by The Saratogian City Desk at
8:13 PM
5 Comments:
I saw our Senator on TV stating that she is introducing a bill to eliminate "don't ask don't tell", working with Ted Kennedy.
anon 7:32:
Thanks for the additional information.
Hi, my name is Tom Torgeson and I'm batshit insane.
Putting aside the fact that Mr. Torgesen is so off base with his comments concerning gays in the military, a man who refuses to discuss his military service and to give out his phone number to a reporter, has no place even being considered for elective office.
it's funny, republicans sold us the iraq war because they told us we needed to do everything possible to protect ourselves, including torture. now they're kicking people out of the army who could help win the war on terror, such as language experts and translators, which we desperately need. so i guess we'll do ANYTHING, even torture and spying on our own citizens, but we'll never go as far as to let a gay american help in the military.
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