Conservative candidate insists she’s not homophobic, but won’t say if she believes in gay ‘cure’ therapy
A Conservative candidate has declined to directly disavow gay ‘cure’ therapy.
Kristy Adams is the Conservative candidate for the Parliamentary constituency of Hove, hoping to unseat gay Labour incumbent Peter Kyle in a close race.
However, she came under scrutiny over the weekend over ties to a church with alleged ties to gay ‘cure’ therapy.
Buzzfeed reported that Ms Adams had been a member of the King’s Arms Church in Bedfordshire, which previously made the news over alleged attempts to “heal” gay and transgender people.
According to the outlet, Ms Adams took part in church events in 2009 and 2010, while her husband is a former director of the church.
The church has always publicly denied practising ‘gay cure’ therapy, and Ms Adams denied being aware of any such practices.
But contacted for comment by the Brighton Argus, Ms Adams reportedly hung up when asked about her personal views.
In a public statement responding to the story, Ms Adams failed to address her ties to the church or directly disavow gay ‘cure’ therapy.
She said: “I supported the government as they introduced same sex marriage four years ago and would vote against any attempt to repeal the legislation; I am committed to all forms of equality.
“I value acceptance of people of all backgrounds, sexes and sexuality. My personal view is that I can’t believe in 2017 that I would need to state the obvious, I have never been homophobic and find it disturbing to hear of people who are.
“The LGBTQ community in Brighton and Hove champion tolerance and fight injustice and I share their desire to make our community a place of acceptance; I am unambiguous in my support for the LGBTQ community.”
Ms Adams has previously claimed she “healed” a man of deafness through the power of prayer, as uncovered by the Mirror last month.
Responding to that story, she said: “Like millions of Christians in the UK, I believe in praying to help people.
“Millions of Christians around the world pray for people’s health – that’s a good thing isn’t it? “It’s about tolerance and we are a city of tremendous tolerance.”
Her opponent Peter Kyle said: “The most offensive thing that someone standing for high office can do is not give somebody a straight answer to an honest question.
“It is absolutely fair that a member of the public should know what somebody who aspires to parliament holds as their core views regarding equality.”
