Marcus Bachmann, husband of Tea Party favorite and Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, told reporters last week what he plans to do as First Husband if his wife is elected president.
At a campaign stop in Iowa on December 16, Bachmann took at swipe at First Lady Michelle Obama, saying “I’ve decided my cause is not going to be happy meals,” a reference to the First Lady’s children’s health initiative. Bachmann said he would use his influence to spearhead a national campaign with an anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage theme.
“We are going to get this message across,” he announced. “Marriage is between one man and one woman. We are going to promote families.”
Bachmann and his wife, a Minnesota congresswoman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, are the owners of Bachmann & Associates, a Christian counseling practice run by Mr. Bachmann, who holds a PhD in clinical psychology, although he is not a licensed psychologist in Minnesota.
Bachmann denies reports that the counseling business performs conversion therapy, the controversial psychological treatment which attempts to transform gay persons into heterosexuals. The practice has been condemned by the American Psychological Association.
In a July interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Bachmann said that “counselors at his clinics follow the wishes of patients and don’t force any treatment.”
The Star Tribune reported that “Bachmann didn’t deny that he or other counselors at Bachmann & Associates have attempted to convert gay patients, but he said it is not a special interest of the business and would only be attempted at the client’s request.”
“Will I address it? Certainly we’ll talk about it,” Bachmann said in the interview. “Is it a remedy form that I typically would use? … It is at the client’s discretion.”
