January 8, 2017
Trump Books Anti-LGBT Clergy for Inauguration
Brittany Ferrendi READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The roster includes a reverend that accused Marvel's X-Men of making kids gay and an archbishop that claimed gay marriage will turn people Asian, among others.
Donald may not have Elton John when he's sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America - but instead he's taken up four antigay pastors to speak.
One of the speakers is Rev. Franklin Graham, who has previously referred to gay people as "the enemy." He also supported a constitutional amendment in North Carolina, which would have banned same-sex marriage.
He also freaked out when Marvel's X-Men revealed a gay character, Ice Man.
"This is another attempt to indoctrinate our young people to accept this destructive lifestyle," he wrote on Facebook at the time. "God's Word says homosexuality is a sin, and we are to be on guard against all sin. God calls us to repent, turn from our sins, and put our trust in His Son Jesus Christ who died and rose again to pay the penalty for sin."
Alongside the reverend will be Dr. Samuel Rodriguez from The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He once claimed homosexuality is a "sin against god" and marriage equality is the "legal catalyst for the marginalization of Americans who embrace a biblical worldview."
But that's not all. Cardinal Timothy Dolan will speak at the inauguration. Queerty reports that Dolan, Archbishop of New York, once claimed gay marriage will turn people Asian.
"Last time I consulted an atlas, it is clear we are living in New York, in the United States of America - not in China or North Korea. In those countries, government presumes daily to 'redefine' rights, relationships, values, and natural law," Dolan said in 2011. "There, communiqu�s from the government can dictate the size of families, who lives and who dies, and what the very definition of 'family' and 'marriage' means."
Pastor Paula White will also be in attendance, though not much is known about her LGBT record.
There is only one non-Christian speaker - Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. He runs Los Angeles' Museum of Tolerance, which recognizes persecution of the LGBT community.
There are no representatives from the Islamic faith thus far.