Speaking to Vibe Magazine in a December-issue cover story titled T.I. Wants You Back, recently paroled rapper and MTV reality star Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (aka T.I.) proved once again that he has a strange way of launching a charm offensive.

T.I. told Vibe that gay activists were overly sensitive when they censored a June performance by Tracy Morgan, during which the comedian said -- among other controversial comments -- that he'd kill his son if he found out he were gay.

Man, I will say this, the funniest joke I ever heard Tracy say during a stand-up was, 'C'mon man, I think gay people are too sensitive,' T.I. told the magazine. 'If you can take a d---, you can take a joke.' That s--- was funny to me. And it's kind of true.

The rapper -- who in September was released from a prison term related to gun charges -- then ratcheted up his argument to include the First Amendment.

They're like, 'If you have an opinion against us, we're gonna shut you down, he said, referring to groups like the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which led June's public outcry against Morgan.

That's not American, T.I. added. If you're gay you should have the right to be gay in peace, and if you're against it you should have the right to be against it in peace.