Updated: New York Senate Candidate Wants All Gays Removed From Textbooks

S.J. Jung is running for New York State Senator in this upcoming September election. A Queens native, he has recently promised residents that upon his election he will remove all images of gay people from school textbooks.

He tells The New York Daily News that this is simply a "matter of distinction, not a matter of discrimination."

"As a nation we must protect the rights and freedoms of all," he continued, "regardless of their views on this matter."

He said that he's aware that pits him against many others in the Democratic party.

Openly gay councilman Daniel Dromm had some comments for Jung.

"He is ignoring reality; same sex couples exist," said Dromm. "Children see them. They know about them. They should be taught about them. What is he going to do, continue to deny reality? We're everywhere...Hard to believe that someone from New York, especially someone from Queens, would continue to hold those views in this day and age."

The election will be held September 13. Jung's opponent and reigning senator, Toby Ann Stavisky, won against him back in the 2014 Democratic primary and has voted in support of same-sex marriage.

UPDATE: Since this article was published, LGBTQ Korean American Groups and Allies issued a joint statement in response to Jung's remarks.

"As LGBTQ Korean Americans, their family members and their allies, we are deeply disappointed to see a man who has done such important work in Korean American communities express such bigotry around LGBTQ communities, marriage and public education," the statement read.

Mark Ro Beyersdorf who is co-coordinator of the Dari Project, an LGBTQ Korean American organization in New York City also shared a few words.

"Jung's remarks are disgraceful. He is a prominent Korean American leader and his statements carry weight in our community. The harsh reality is that there are large segments of the Korean American community that are deeply homophobic and transphobic," Beyesford said.

"While there are some Korean American leaders and organizations who are vocal champions of LGBTQ people," He continued. "There are too many who are privately supportive of LGBTQ people but unwilling to publicly stand up for us. We need more Korean American community leaders and organizations to take a stand and help lead our community forward."