In an interview Monday, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia, E. W. Jackson, defended controversial comments he has made about gays and comparisons he drew between the Klu Klux Klan and Planned Parenthood.
"The main similarity, which I will continue to propound is that the moral dilema that both pose is very similar," Jackson told conservative talk radio host Bryan Fischer. "The justification for slavery is in a sense the same as the justification for unfettered abortion, which is, the victim is not a real person, he's not a human being and therefore has no rights that we are bound to respect."
Later, Jackson declined to back off his views of what Fischer said was "the normalization of homosexuality."
"Part of this is really an attempt to deny us our First Amendment rights of freedom of religion," Jackson said.
"Look, sure, people could debate about whether I've always said things as artfully as I might have. As a minister I say things to have an impact on people. To have them confront the truth which doesn't always work unfortunately in the political sphere but the truth is the truth," Jackson said.