On Mike Gallagher’s Friday radio show, “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace had a heated debate with Gallagher over the Boy Scouts lifting its ban on openly gay boys.
Wallace called himself “conflicted” on the issue and laid out his argument for gays in the Boy Scouts, likening it to changing attitudes about interracial marriage.
“I think the world is changing,” Wallace said. “I think — you know, and our attitudes toward gays are changing. You know, one of the questions I asked — here’s a legitimate question, I don’t know, was there ever a racial — and I don’t know the answer to this — discrimination between whites and blacks in the Boy Scouts? There have been for instance in marrying. So then I say to myself, ‘Well, you know there was time when people wouldn’t have accepted blacks and whites marrying and now we think of that as completely bigoted and benighted. So you know, how would we feel about this? It’s up to the individual scout troop as to whether or not they’re going to do it and in some places they will accept it, and in some places they won’t accept it. There’s just not going to be a ban on it anymore, and in a community where there’s a feeling that they’re comfortable with that, I don’t know that they should be banned from allowing gays from being in the scouts. I very much doubt they’re going to jump on each other in the tent.”
Gallagher disagreed, saying there could be issues with boys being sexually attracted to other boys in close quarters. That comment led to a name-calling, back-and-forth argument between the two.
WALLACE: Knock yourself out. I’m done.
GALLAGHER: You’re an idiot. You’re totally an idiot. You’re so wrong on this one.
WALLACE: You’re so bigoted.
GALLAGHER: Oh, I’m bigoted? I’m the least homophobic guy on the radio. This is not anti-gay. And I understand people want inclusion. I don’t like discrimination. I don’t the way a lot of people react to gays and lesbians in this country. I really don’t. I think a lot of my Christian brothers and sisters get more fired about gays than they do about adultery or pornography or marital infidelity. But my gosh — the scouts are going to get destroyed by this.
WALLACE: Oh, baloney! Wait a minute, you know — that’s like, has the military been destroyed by ‘don’t ask, don’t tell?’
GALLAGHER: We’re not talking about minor children in the military.
Gallagher suggested Wallace was positioning himself for a job at the left-leaning MSNBC, which Wallace took offense.
“You sound like you’re vying for a job over at MSNBC, I swear,” Gallagher said to Wallace.
“Really, this is my last appearance on this show,” Wallace fired back. “I’m trying to be open and honest with you about this. I’m conflicted about it.”
Later, Wallace seemed to back off of his threat to stop appearing on Gallagher’s show, but suggested there could be parameters set in the future.
“Why do you get me in trouble?” Wallace said. “Look, we’re going to have to have a list of things we’re going to talk about and not talk about.”
“Oh, are you going to avoid things, Mr. President?” Gallagher said. “There’s going to be categories we’re not going to cover on the show? Oh, that’s fine with me. You go ahead and tell us what’s not fair game.”