Likely 2016 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is back at it–running his mouth, that is, and defending right-wing Christians who do not believe in the equal rights of gay people.

In a recent interview on CNN, Huckabee suggested that his gay friends—don't ask who they are—are simply pursuing a different lifestyle. "I don't shut people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view," he explains. "I don't drink alcohol, but gosh, a lot of my friends, maybe most of them, do. You know, I don't use profanity, but believe me, I've got a lot of friends who do. Some people really like classical music and ballet and opera–it's not my cup of tea."

No opera for this man's man!

Related: Mike Huckabee Agrees The Gays Caused Newtown Massacre

Huckabee might have gay friends, but he still thinks businesses should be allowed to turn them away. "What worries me in this new environment we're in, it's not just that someone might disagree, they don't want to argue with me, even take a different point of view. They want to close someone's business down."

Is there any chance of a compromise? Not likely—Huckabee says it's not just a political issue, but a biblical one. "It's like asking someone who's Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli," said the master analogist. "We don't want to do that—I mean, we're not going to do that."

Subtle.