During the August 16 Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast of The Mike Rosen Show, host Rosen defended controversial remarks made by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez's running mate, Janet Rowland, linking gay marriage to incest, polygamy, and marriage involving 11-year-olds. Rosen said that Rowland was making “an entirely defensible point” but added that he would have “advised her to use a different example than bestiality,” suggesting “the example of incest” instead. Later, Rosen again defended Rowland's “intellectual point,” stating, “Let's talk about bestiality, for example.”

On the March 17 broadcast of Rocky Mountain PBS' Colorado State of Mind, during a discussion of a referendum to allow domestic partnerships, Rowland stated:

ROWLAND: I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. Homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle, that doesn't make it a marriage. Some people have group sex -- should we allow two men and three women to marry? Should we allow polygamy with one man and five wives? For some people, the alternative lifestyle is bestiality -- do we allow a man to marry a sheep? I mean, at some point, you have to draw a line.

[...]

ROWLAND: What if someone -- let's say, what if someone's 'line' is a cousin? What if they want to marry a cousin or an aunt or an uncle? What if it's an adult with a child? Why do we say you have to be 18 to get married; why can't 11-year-olds?

On his show, Rosen stated that “Democrats and liberals and those in the mass media ... are trying to make a big deal out of the selection by Bob Beauprez of [Rowland]” because of her controversial comments on Colorado State of Mind. Rosen explained, “Monogamy is lawful; polygamy is not. It's a classic example of legislating morality. That's the point that Janet Rowland was trying to make, and it's an entirely defensible point. I'd have advised her to use a different example than bestiality. She could have used the example of incest, for example.”

Rosen later said, “Let's talk about bestiality, for example. ... All right, you love your dog; your dog loves you. Who's to deny you the right to formalize that relationship in a marriage, and if you want to express that love by having sexual interaction, who's to deny you that? And the answer, obviously, is that society is to deny you that, because society won't accept that. That's where society draws the line.” Rosen added, “That's the intellectual point that Janet Rowland was trying to make.”

From the August 16 Mike Rosen Show:

ROSEN: Democrats and liberals and those in the mass media, which the majority of whom are Democrats and liberals, many of them, are, are trying to make a big deal out of the selection by Bob Beauprez of a Mesa County county commissioner to be his running mate, to run as lieutenant governor. Her name is Janet Rowland. The hot issue here is a comment she made, apparently on a television program on PBS. This was back in March. They were talking about same-sex marriage and arguments for and against same-sex marriage. And she was quoted as saying, “For some people, the alternative lifestyle is bestiality; do we allow a man to marry a sheep?”, and some have expressed outrage that she was equating homosexuals to sheep. I think it's clear that she wasn't equating homosexuals to sheep. She was making a point about where society draws the line in giving its approval to certain types of behavior. And society, of course, does draw the line.

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ROSEN: Monogamy is lawful; polygamy is not. It's a classic example of legislating morality. That's the point that Janet Rowland was trying to make, and it's an entirely defensible point. I'd have advised her to use a different example than bestiality. She could have used the example of incest, for example. If you're talking about sexual relations and marriage between a brother and a sister, both of whom are consenting adults, who choose to engage in sex and want to get married, why shouldn't they be free as adult individuals with free choice to do that? And the answer is, society won't condone it.

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ROSEN: Let's talk about bestiality, for example. Let's say that you were to say that you love your dog and your dog loves you. I don't think there's any question that humans can feel love for dogs and that dogs can reciprocate by loving humans. All right, you love your dog; your dog loves you. Who's to deny you the right to formalize that relationship in a marriage, and if you want to express that love by having sexual interaction, who's to deny you that? And the answer, obviously, is that society is to deny you that, because society won't accept that. That's where society draws the line. That's the intellectual point that Janet Rowland was trying to make, and in doing so she gave an example that left her open to criticism by people who don't want to look at it intellectually but are just looking at an opportunity to bash someone with whom they disagree on a partisan basis or on a policy basis regarding that person's political party and that person's political agenda. And that's what's really at the heart of this.