Nick Griffin told a gay student homosexuals should "get over" the fact most heterosexual people find the sight of two men kissing "creepy."
In an interview with the Leeds Student, the leader of the British National Party said he wasn't homophobic but civil partnerships for gay couples "undermine institution of marriage" and "as a result of that, children will die over the next few years, because they’ll be brought up in homes which aren’t married."
Not creepy
Mr Griffin made headlines recently after posting the home address of a gay couple who won a landmark ruling against a Christian B&B owner who denied them a room because of her religious beliefs. He then appeared to encourage a "British Justice team" to visit then.
After Leeds Student journalist James Greenhaigh asked the politician "I’m gay. What is wrong with people like me?" Griffin attempted to justify his views by comparing them with an imaginary Islamic kingdom.
He said: "Gay people have complained for years that the rest of society hasn’t understood how they feel, and has had to make allowances, has to be tolerant.
"So why can’t you people simply get over it and tolerate the fact that a lot of heterosexual people – we don’t want to persecute you – but we find the sight of two men kissing creepy.
"That’s just a fact. What’s the problem? You [students] may think I’m a monster, but look at what your fate would be in an Islamic republic of Britain."
Nick Griffin posted the address of a gay couple online. The tweets were later deleted
He also claimed he was a more tolerant BNP leader because under his leadership, the party had scrapped their policy to re-criminalise homosexuality.
He told the Leeds Student: "Now we now have a policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ People can do whatever they want in private."
The student newspaper published the article alongside a comment piece on their reasons for airing views which many students might find offensive.
They argue it was right to give Griffin a platform for his views because he is an elected MEP and it is important all parties are challenged to justify their views.
Describing the views of the BNP as "unsavoury to say the least" the paper nonetheless stated:
"All students who believe in the freedom of press, the freedom to think and the freedom to speak their mind should support this paper in publishing this interview."
Lucy Snow, features editor of Leeds Student, told the Huffington Post UK: "We put a lot of thought into it, but I strongly believe that publicly challenging these views is the best way of making people aware of how dangerous figures like Griffin are.
"To assume students need to be sheltered from this stuff undermines their intelligence. Griffin being directly challenged on his homophobia by a gay man was powerful - I felt I had a duty to get it into print."
So far the reaction has been positive, she explained.
She added: "University staff have congratulated us on our bravery. The twitter reaction seems mainly positive. Nothing's landed in my inbox just yet, but I've just been told by the Equality and Diversity officer at our Union that there's some coming!"