February 25, 2004
EARTHQUAKE IN SAN FRANCISCO–WORLDWIDE TREMORS:
I'm not gay, says 81-year-old monarch with 14 children (Alex Spillius, The Telegraph, 25/02/04)
King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, an 81-year-old father of 14, yesterday surprised his subjects by denying that he was homosexual. His comments came as he underlined his support for same-sex marriage, having seen television coverage of such weddings in California.In a statement on his website, the king said: "I am not gay, but I respect the rights of gays and lesbians. It's not their fault if God makes them born like that."
He said the statement, posted yesterday, was made in response to an "insulting" email he received from someone called Tom Adams, which presumably accused the monarch of being homosexual after he announced his approval of same-sex unions.
His statement continued: "Gays and lesbians would not exist if God did not create them. As a Buddhist I must have compassion for human beings who are not like me but who torture nobody, kill nobody."
Buckingham Palace has called a news conference for this evening. You won’t want to miss it.
Posted by Peter Burnet at February 25, 2004 11:01 AM
For someone whose lack of good judgement has been
manifest on much more important subjects (from
making Cambodia a VietCong sanctuary, which ultimately led to his regime's overthrow, to being
the frontman for the Khmer Rouge) to credit this
view
Is Buddism that metaphysically incoherent or is King Sihanouk a poor example of Buddhist thinking?
Posted by: Tom C., Stamford,Ct. at February 25, 2004 4:00 PM