Perhaps it could be called “the Trump effect” — statements so wildly wrong, exaggerated and irresponsible that it is astonishing that anyone would believe them, let alone say them. That could certainly be said of recent statements about gay suicide deaths made by Dave Robinson, the communication director of the Salt Lake County Republican Party. Robinson, who says he knows gay people who have had “over 2,000 sex partners,” speculates that there is a causal relationship between promiscuity and suicide.
What is particularly puzzling is that Robinson is gay, which makes it more likely that those unfamiliar with the nature of homosexuality or the causes of suicide and its prevention might be influenced by his assertions.