Tenenbaum, the state education superintendent, called DeMint’s position “un-American.”
DeMint said after the debate that he would not require teachers to admit to being gay, but if they were “openly gay, I do not think that they should be teaching at public schools.”
Tenenbaum later told reporters that “the private life of our teachers should stay private. I was shocked to hear him say that.”
Don't Ask, Don't Tell for the public school system? DeMint doesn't mind gay teachers, as long as they act straight? I'd hate to imagine what how he would propose the schools handle openly gay students.
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UPDATE (10/7): Rep. DeMint has issued no apology for his statements regarding the fitness of gay teachers, but he has apologized for another statement he made Tuesday while trying to explain his earlier comment about banning openly gay teachers. Apparently he was speaking "as a dad," not as an aspiring senator, when he said:
"I would have given the same answer when asked if a single woman, who was pregnant and living with her boyfriend, should be hired to teach my third grade children," DeMint told the newspaper for Wednesday editions. "I just think the moral decisions are different with a teacher."
Hmm - how many other groups of voters can he offend before election day?