Paladino says he’d hire gays

NEW YORK – Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino said in separate appearances Monday that he stands up for the rights of everyone, including gays, but thinks young children shouldn’t be exposed to homosexuality, especially at gay pride parades.

“They wear these little Speedos and they grind against each other and it’s just a terrible thing,” Paladino said Monday on NBC’s “Today” show. “Why would you bring your children to that?”

The candidate said he opposes same-sex marriage but would actively recruit gays to his administration. Mentioning his gay nephew, Paladino said the discrimination he and others face is a “very ugly experience.”

The comments by Paladino, who has received tea party support, came a day after he told Orthodox Jewish leaders he doesn’t want children “brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality” is acceptable.

At Monday’s Columbus Day Parade in Manhattan, his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, said the comments were “reckless and divisive” in light of recent violence. Police say two teenage boys and a man were tortured recently in the Bronx because of suspicions they were gay.