GOPer Says Firing Gays is “Freedom”

Firing gay people is a “freedom” employers enjoy, North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger allegedly said, drawing condemnation from gay rights groups.

“It’s like smoking bans,” the Republican congressman reportedly told a writer from ThinkProgress at a town hall meeting in Charlotte earlier this month when asked if he supported legislation to protect gay people from discrimination at work. “Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property?”