OC Politician Says Gays Stole Rainbow From God

One OC politician is slinging some serious allegations against gays: Newport Beach City Councilman Scott Peotter claims the "homosexual movement" stole the rainbow as a symbol from God and have corrupted it for their own use.

And now that he's catching major heat for criticizing the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage in an email blast to his constituents, Peotter sees himself as a victim in this crime.

In his bi-monthly newsletter, Peotter declares that the SCOTUS ruling "overturns 5,000 years of Judeo-Christian tradition, by redefining and allowing gay marriage," according to the L.A. Times. Also in the email, which bears the Newport Beach city seal, he shared this gem about his insight on rainbows, "I do find it interesting that the homosexual movement adopted the rainbow as their symbol, as it was God's symbol that he wouldn't destroy the world by flood again. And maybe they are wishful thinking [sic]."

So, by using the rainbow as a symbol, the "homosexual movement" is hoping God won't destroy the world by flood?

Far from developing a rainbow coalition, Peotter has instead incurred the wrath of gay rights leaders and, well, lots of people. Kevin O'Grady, executive director of the LGBT Center of Orange County, called Peotter's comments "homophobic" and "disturbing." O'Grady tells the L.A. Times, "I'm sick and tired of politicians using the gay community to express their bigotry without there being any response to it."

Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich is staying as far away from Peotter and his rainbow theories as possible, explaining that he disagreed with the councilmember's comments, "From my standpoint, personally, and speaking as mayor, his comments are inappropriate for a council member and not reflective of city policy in any way. He should have chosen a platform where his opinions wouldn't be confused with the city's."

But Peotter is not backing down. He argues that he is not homophobic or against the LGBT community. Instead he's merely sharing his thoughts in favor of "traditional" marriage and believes the Supreme Court shouldn't have interfered with the laws. Positioning himself as a victim, Peotter explains, "The homosexual movement is taking a symbol that was meant for something else and is corrupting it for their use. The people that are out there criticizing me for [the email] are leading the cry for no name-calling and tolerance, but they're intolerant of any view but their own."

Peotter's one concession is that he's agreed to stop using the Newport Beach city seal in his bi-monthly email correspondence, per the mayor's request. Big gesture, Peotter. And it seems that this is not Peotter's first strong stance taken against the LGBT community. According to the L.A. Times, he belonged to the Irvine Values Coalition, a group that attempted to remove gays and lesbians from protection under Irvine's human rights ordinance in the late 1980s.