Rob Ford’s Stance On Gay Marriage Questioned
Posted August 4, 2010 4:03 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Fundamentalist Christian pastor and one-time mayoral candidate, Wendell Brereton, shifted from the fringe to centre-spotlight Wednesday after his public endorsement of Rob Ford sparked questions concerning the mayoral front-runner’s stance on same-sex marriage.
Ford and Brereton stood side-by-side Wednesday as the pastor announced he was dropping out of the mayor’s race to run for council in Ward 6 and endorse Ford’s campaign, which stresses fiscal responsibility — an area the two see eye-to-eye on.
But it didn’t take long for reporters on hand to question previous statements posted on his Brereton’s campaign website.
One such statement, which has since been removed, read: “Men who don’t truly comprehend the reality of the importance of the God-defined family will dismantle the very ethical fibers [sic] of what a healthy democratic civilization is.”
Brereton, who is a retired OPP officer, said he had a “fundamentalist view on how families are oriented. I believe in heterosexual marriage. That’s who I am, that’s what my belief system is.”
When Ford took to the microphone and was asked if he shared that view, he said, “We’re together, we share the same thoughts”.
When asked to further elaborate, an uncomfortable-looking Ford tried to sway the topic of conversation away from sexual orientation, back to the fiscal responsibility, but after being pressed he finally stated:
“I support traditional marriage. I always have,” Ford said. “But if people want to….to each their own. I’m not worried about what people do in their private life. I look out for taxpayers’ money.”
“To each his own when it comes down to what happens behind closed doors.”
Ford’s chief mayoral rival, George Smitherman, is married to Christopher Peloso.
Ford closed the show by reiterating why he supported Mr. Brereton’s endorsement.
“He understands respecting tax-payers’ money and being a former police officer he understands the importance of eliminating crime and how to go about that. We will be working together to make the City of Toronto a better place to work, play and live.”
“This is about saving tax-payers money,” he concluded. “And that’s why I want Wendell Brereton as part of my team.”
