Former NBA star Charles Barkley told CNN on Thursday that people who don't want to work at same-sex weddings simply want to discriminate against gay people.
"Those people just want flowers. They're not trying to trick you into their gay lifestyle," Barkley told host Chris Cuomo. "Typically in the South, that's where I'm from, all of these rednecks hide behind the Bible. … That's one of the reasons the South is behind in everything. They always hide behind the Bible. It's strictly about discrimination."
Barkley noted that a florist in a news report on CNN didn't say she wouldn't provide services for a gay wedding, but, when asked, said she would serve someone who had committed adultery because it is "a different kind of sin."
"She put that on a whole separate category," Barkley said. "So they want to have selective about their sins. That's another example of why they're full of it. They have selective amnesia.
"They just don't like gay people. I wish they would just say that," Barkley continued.
Barkley was part of a discussion on the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, that has drawn fire from critics who call it a license for people to discriminate against same-sex couples.
When Cuomo pointed out that the Christian business owners say it is their rights that are being trampled on, Barkley responded, "Gay people didn't go after Christians. They came after gay people. Let's get that straight."
Barkley said the issue isn't just about gay rights, but could extend to someone not serving a Muslim customer or a member of the military if the owner opposed war.
"I would hope if they didn't want to serve a black person, I hope that people would come and stand up for me," he said.
Barkley also accused the media of not having any gay voices on the air to talk about the issue.
Cuomo challenged him, saying he had talked to several gay people on his own show about the Indiana law.
"America's always had a racial problem. Now we have a homophobic problem," Barkley said. "Any form of discrimination, you have to check it."
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