Pacquiao condemns gay marriage as an affront to God

In an interview on the examiner.com website, world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, who is Roman Catholic, said he didn’t agree with President Obama’s support for gay marriage and proceeded to reference Leviticus:

“God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other.”

“It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old.”

Those remarks have drawn criticism, in part because originally it was believed that Pacquaio had directly quoted Leviticus 20:13 in the interview:

“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

But today the interviewer said that Pacquiao never quoted Leviticus—he added that to provide the biblical context.

Pacquaio also responded to the Associated Press with a some-of-my-best-friends-are-gay comment:

“I’m not against the gay people,” Pacquiao said. “I’m not condemning them. ... I have a cousin (who is) gay. I have relatives (who are) gay. I have a lot of friends (who are) gay, so I’m not condemning gays. What I said is I’m not in favor of same-sex marriage. That’s the one thing I said to the guy.

“I told (the reporter) I’m against same-sex marriage,” Pacquiao added. “He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘It’s the law of God.’ That’s all I said.”

Read more from the AP here.