N.C. pastor just 'joking' about hitting kids who seem gay

North Carolinians vote next week on whether to add the state's gay marriage ban to its constitution, which gave one Baptist pastor the all-clear to steer his flock right into a political minefield. In his Sunday sermon, Sean Harris advised listeners "to hit children who show signs of being gay," the Fayetteville Observer reports. Now the pastor is saying it was all a joke and that nobody should hit a child. He's not backing off completely. "Those weren't planned words, but what I do stand by is that the word of God makes it clear that effeminate behavior is ungodly," he says. "I'm not going to compromise on that."