Ashley Banfield: "Homosexuality is a Lifestyle Choice"

[source]

Early this morning I got a push notification stating that CNN's anchor Ashley Banfield may have incurred into the delicate lands of controversy by making a statement against Pastor Curtis Knapp who (like 99 % of other extremist pastors) have decided to get on the crazy bus and state that gays should be put to death. Good for her to ripost against Knapp . . . except her 'choice' of words kind of stab themselves in translation:

Pedophilia is not by choice, last I checked. In his sermon, Pastor Knapp blamed the Bush administration for its tolerance of gay people. Says that he claims that set the stage, in fact, for the Obama administration to endorse same-sex marriage.
Like I said: they can’t make this stuff up. Unbelievable. Speechless, right? [...]
Again, we gotta outline here, when he says “they punish incest and pedophilia”… Please. Those things are often not by choice and are crimes. Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice by people; it is voluntary.

So I sat there looking at my phone reading and replaying the video over and over thinking, well, perhaps she meant well? I don't know. Cynthia Nixon shot herself in the foot only a couple of months ago with a similar comment and while I think she meant well, it didn't sit well.

You can imagine my relief when I came home and found that Banfield had quickly corrected amended her statement on Twitter to explain:

Need 2 clarify. Incest and pedophelia [sic] are CRIMES & victims have no choice. Being gay is not. Relatnshps r by choice. Way of life not crime.

She added:

Gay relationships are voluntary -unlike crimes of pedophelia and incest where people r victimized.

Being gay is not a choice. Being in consensual relationship is. I support LGBT people. I do not support pastor who says its a crime.

Good enough for me - so I think it's safe to say, "Move along, people. There's nothing here to see, nothing she has to apologize for. It's all good."