CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is defending comments he made about homosexuality and transgenderism months ago.
"I will not back down, I will not be silent and I will not be bullied into submission," Robinson said in a video posted over the weekend.
While speaking to members of Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove, Robinson called transgenderism and homosexuality "filth." Robinson said he wasn't speaking in his official capacity when he was at the church, only as a person holding onto his religious beliefs.
"To me, it is against the tenets of my religion," Robinson said. "But we do not live in a theocracy, and I do not have the right to tell anyone what they practice in their home."
Robinson said teaching about those issues in public schools, however, is "absolutely off limits."
Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, called on Robinson to resign from his office over the comments.
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