Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich spoke to the Minnesota Family Council last night to stump for religious right support. By the end of the night, Gingrich sparkled, not from the glow of adoration—but with glitter.
While signing books at the event, Gingrich was showered with glitter by an activist named Nick Espinosa. A video shows him shaking hands with Gingrich, then pulling a box of glitter, and then showering Newt and Callista with it. “Feel the rainbow, Newt,” Espinosa shouted. “Stop the hate. Stop anti-gay politics. It’s dividing our country and it’s not fixing our economy.”
Espinosa was forcibly escorted from the room and given a lecture by the man who showed him to the elevator about how they don’t come to “your events” to disrupt them. Perhaps this guy has never been to a pride parade where anti-gay people shout Bible verses and vulgar slogans at LGBT people.
Gingrich’s appearance comes as Minnesota wrestles with the question of whether to put an anti-marriage equality amendment into its constitution. Many religious right groups like the Minnesota Family Council are rallying for its passage, but not all conservatives are in support. Minnesotans for Limited Government, a libertarian group that supports Ron Paul for president, believes the state should stay out of religious marriage:
Under our policy, both heterosexual and homosexual couples could have their unions recognized by the state, but could not call their union a Marriage unless they sought the blessing of a church. We do not believe any church should be compelled to marry same-sex couples, but at the same time we respect the rights of churches to do so if they choose.
As for Gingrich, he’s been given a tongue lashing by his own sister, Candace, an LGBT activist, who told her “big bro” to stop being “a hater”:
What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions. That’s really so ’90s, Newt. In this day and age, it’s embarrassing to watch you talk like that. You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because there is no place for you in it.
Indeed, all that glitters is not gold.
