A Roy Moore spokesperson just said Moore “probably” thinks homosexual conduct should be illegal

This happened. In 2017.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper described it as “a yes-or-no question” for Roy Moore, Alabama’s Republican Senate candidate: “Does he think that homosexual conduct should be illegal?”

Ted Crockett, a spokesperson for Moore, gave a simple answer: “Probably.”

Tapper asked what the punishment would be, but Crockett did not give an answer, instead calling the alleged crime “a sin.”

The views described in the Tuesday exchange aren’t new for Moore. As Alabama Supreme Court chief justice in 2002, he concurred with an opinion that said “homosexual behavior” is “a crime against nature, an inherent evil, and an act so heinous that it defies one’s ability to describe it.” In 2005, he said that “homosexual conduct should be illegal.” Last year, he was kicked off the state Supreme Court for refusing to enforce the US Supreme Court’s decision striking down states’, including Alabama’s, ban on same-sex marriage. He also compared that US Supreme Court decision to an 1857 ruling that denied black people US citizenship.

But it is an astounding thing to hear from an official spokesperson for a US Senate campaign: Moore, who is potentially weeks away from joining Congress if he wins Tuesday’s election, “probably” believes that homosexual conduct should be illegal.

A spokesperson for Moore did not immediately respond to a follow-up request for comment.