Turns Out Komen Vice Pres. Karen Handel is Anti-Gay Everything

Komen for the Cure Vice President Karen Handel is against civil unions, adoptions, and benefits for same sex couples.

By Jorge Rivas Feb 06, 2012

[Update 2/7/2012: On Tuesday, Handel announced she was resigning from her position at Komen for the Cure.]

Komen for the Cure Vice President for Public Policy Karen Handel is anti gay everything.  She’s "wholeheartedly" agaisnt gay marriage, civil unions, ‘absolutely agaisnt gay adoptions’ and domestic partner benefits.

In a 2010 interview with an NBC affiliate in Georgia–just one year before she took the job at Komen–Handel bloated about supporting Georgia’s constitutional amendment against gay marriage.

"I’ve been very clear. And you know, as a Christian, marriage is between a man and a woman," she said in the interview with Atlanta’s WXIA-TV.

"And it’s something that I supported wholeheartedly," she said.

Handel’s staunchly anti-gay comments are surfacing as a number of Komen employees leak information that she’s responsible for cutting ties with Planned Parenthood, a decision the pink-ribbon foundation reversed on Friday.

"Karen Handel was the prime instigator of this effort, and she herself personally came up with investigation criteria," a source, who requested anonymity for professional reasons, told HuffP ost. "She said, ‘If we just say it’s about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.’"

"Everybody in the organization wishes she would do the right thing," the Komen insider told HuffPost.

Below is the video of Handel’s interview with WXIA in which details she’s against gay marriage, same sex partners getting benefits and anti gay adoption.

WXIA’s Doug Richards: You have said that you are — you’re against gay marriage, right?

Handel: Mm hm. Absolutely. Marriage is between one man and one woman. And I’ve been very very clear about that. And the record is clear about any of the other issues like domestic partner benefits or anything like that. In fact in Fulton, I voted no on domestic partner benefits.

Q: Are you against civil unions for gays?

A: Yes. I think that’s not an issue that has come forward in Georgia. We have the constitutional amendment against gay marriage, and I don’t want to see any taxpayer funding going toward benefits etcetera for a couple that is not married. In our state and for me, marriage is for one man and one woman.

Q: Why is that?

A: Why is marriage between one man and one woman? (Laughs). Are you serious?

Q: Yes. Well why — do you view committed gay relationships as being less legitimate than committed heterosexual relationships?

A: As a Christian, I view relationships and marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Q: But what about the legitimacy of the relationship? Do you have any gay friends? Do you know gay couples?

A: Of course I do. Are we going to spend our whole day talking on this issue?

Q: I want to know how you feel about this.

A: I’ve been very clear. And you know, as a Christian, marriage is between a man and a woman. I do not think that gay relationships are — they are not what God intended. And that’s just my viewpoint on it. Others might disagree with that. But I would also hope that if you look at what is happening in our state, we’ve got issues we need to be focused on in Georgia. We have a constitutional amendment against gay marriage. And it’s something that I supported wholeheartedly. We have that, and let’s get dealing with the other issues that we also need to deal with in Georgia. And the press can help with that. (Laughs).

Q: Frequently, folks in the legislature kind of threaten to — there are always rumblings in the legislature that they may outlaw gay adoptions. You’re against gay adoption.

A: I am against gay adoption. But remember — I mean, if there is legislation on that, certainly I will follow that and look at it. But in the end, ultimately courts are going to be the ones to have to make the decision on that and it’s always in the best interests of the child. Do I think that gay parents is in the best interest of the child? No. But we do have our court system that deals with many and most of those issues.

Q: Would you favor outlawing gay adoptions?

A: Yeah, I would consider that, absolutely.

(h/t New Civil Rights Movement)