The National Party's candidate for New Plymouth is a former Church Minister who says homosexuality is a choice and strongly objects to it being seen as a "normal alternative."
Jonathan Young's views, printed in the Taranaki Daily Times at the weekend, angered GayNZ.com readers in New Plymouth who contacted us.
"One of my associates was an ex-lesbian," Young told the newspaper. "She discovered through her own journey and talking to others that a lot of things happened to her in her childhood that affected her deeply and caused her to become [homosexual].
"One of the things I do strongly object to in terms of the people who have made this choice is the presentation of it as a normal alternative," he concluded.
LGBT support network OUTline's manager Lesley Belcham says she "can't believe this kind of mentality still pervades New Zealander's thoughts".
"What is Jonathan Young suggesting? That New Zealand should return to the 1950's and 60s when electro shock therapy was recommended for homosexual people? I strongly object to myth mongers like Jonathan Young," she tells GayNZ.com.
Genetic factors, developmental factors, and personal choices may each play a part in a person's sexuality, says Belcham.
"I ask, what is normal? Is being left-handed normal? Is orange hair normal? Yes, they are! The Kinsey Reports, which put people on a sliding scale between being heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual, claim that up to 10% of the population is homosexual at some point in their lives.
"Homosexual people are normal. I love my partner and am proud to be me - happily, not your associate, Mr. Young."
Young, 50, was Senior Minister of CityChurch Waitakere in West Auckland for 18 years prior to moving back to his birthplace in Taranaki this year. He is one of the nine children of Venn Young, the long-serving National Party politician who championed homosexual law reform and became well-known for his failed attempt to legalise 'homosexual acts' in 1975.
GayNZ.com has attempted to contact Young via phone and email, but has not received a response as yet.
