And independent candidate for the Molonglo electorate Philip Pocock also wants to see “rules” against sex before marriage, infidelity and divorce.

Mr Pocock has told the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn that most politicians are either inadequate to enforce “legitimate sexual expression” or they are addicted to “distortions of sexuality.”

But the would-be politician and consultant psychologist stopped short of condoning violence against gays, saying that nobody had the right to engage in “poofter bashing”.

Mr Pocock made his remarks in a response to a questionnaire sent by the church to candidates and parties contesting the election.

In the section canvassing the politicians’ positions in the marriage debate, Mr Pocock declared that “a true ‘union’ only occurs in heterosexual vaginal intercourse and homosexual unions not only deserve no special rights but must be seen as the destructive behaviours that should be actively discouraged.”

“I believe sodomy of man or woman should be regarded as a criminal offence and while people do not have the right to go ‘poofter bashing’, to use colloquial language, they should have the right to discriminate in terms of employment, accommodation etc as they do in dealing with drug addicts etc,” Mr Pocock wrote.

The candidate said that sexuality should not be left to individuals but regulated by the state and that many politicians were inadequate for the job or they themselves were indulging themselves sexually.

“It is not something that should just be left to individuals, in the privacy of their bedroom, and this is merely a position put by many politicians, even those of good will, who feel inadequate to deal with these issues while others, who, through ignorance, indulge themselves sexually, obviously have no intent of denying their addiction and will continue to sell out the innocent,” Mr Pocock wrote.

The political hopeful and former Commonwealth public servant, also provide the church with his set of “rules for legitimate sexual expression.”

“Rules for legitimate sexual expression that are most protective of individual wellbeing would therefore be: no sex before marriage, marriage must be freely entered into by a man and a woman, however the arrangements came into being,” Mr Pocock wrote.

“Marriage is for life, no extramarital sex, no remarriage until one of the partners has died.”

Mr Pocock told the archdiocese that his views were “based on biology and psychological observations” but provided passages of scripture that he said backed his views.