Manny Pacquiao Says He Loves And Supports Gays And Lesbians

World champion boxer Manny Pacquiao denounced his anti-homosexual remarks regarding President Barack Obama’s stance on gay marriage on May 17, 2012, after he was banned from a Hollywood mall for his alleged comments, as he said that he loves and supports gays and lesbians, The AP reported.

While Filipino politician Pacquiao claims he does love and support homosexuals, he has indicated that he is still in opposition to Obama when it comes to gay marriage. During a Wednesday interview with The Associated Press, Pacquiao was quoted having said:

“I’m not against the gay people. I’m not condemning them. I have a cousin [who is] gay. I have relatives [who are] gay. I have a lot of friends [who are] gay, so I’m not condemning gays. What I said is I’m not in favor of same-sex marriage. That’s the one thing I said to the guy. I told [the reporter] I’m against same-sex marriage. He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘It’s the law of God.’ That’s all I said.”

A problem some of the readers of the Examiner.com report may have had with Manny’s comments regarding gay marriage could very well have been derived from a Bible passage, included by the author, that some readers could have easily mistaken as having been said by Pacquiao. The quoted scripture, which comes from a passage in Leviticus, calls for the death of “a man [who] lies with a man.”

With the article’s author having clearly indicated that Pacquiao did not quote the Bible passage, a petition on change.org was suspended Wednesday, but, only after the petition managed to receive 4,868 signatures. The petition encouraged Nike, one of Manny’s sponsors, to drop the boxing champ.

What are your thoughts on Manny Pacquiao’s most recent remarks regarding his support of homosexuality and his belief that gay marriage goes against the law of God?

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