A pastor who this week derailed Michigan’s proposed non-discrimination ordinance is now calling Matthew Shepard a “criminal” and “a victim of his own lascivious lifestyle.”
This week a pastor spoke before the Michigan House in opposition to a proposed non-discrimination bill. His bombastic speech discounted LGBT people’s experiences of discrimination and victimization, and their attempts to gain equality.
Saying it “offended,” him, Pastor Stacy Swimp railed against the very notion of an LGBT civil rights movement, suggesting it is an affront to the African American civil rights movement, as if civil rights are only for Black people.
LOOK: Pastor Derails Gay Rights Bill Because Gays ‘Never Had To Drink Out Of An LGBT Water Fountain’
Pastor Swimp, a long-time anti-gay activist who has claimed same-sex marriage will “destroy the backbone of our society,†on Wednesday preached his message of inequality to lawmakers, suggesting all experiences of inequality must themselves be equal.
“I ask, has anyone from the LGBT community ever had to stand up or step off of the sidewalk whenever a straight person walked by? Lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, and transgender Americans have never been denied their voting rights, nor have they been denied the right to assemble. No one from the LGBT community has ever had fire hoses turned on them by the police department, they have never had to drink out of an LGBT water fountain. There is no record of LGBT — homosexuals, lesbians being forced to sit at the back of the bus in an LGBT section.â€
Here’s how Swimp’s speech before lawmakers ended, as Raw Story describes:
At the conclusion of Swimp’s testimony, [Rep.] Foster pointed out that it was wrong to imply that Americans did not face discrimination because of their sexual orientation.
“If you don’t think the LGBT community has been discriminated against, been drug behind cars, been hung up by their necks to they’re dead, been denied housing, been denied commerce opportunities then you’re just not looking very far,†Foster observed.
“Can you cite one legal case in which a homosexual, a lesbian has been subject to discrimination and denied housing — supported by the public policy — potentially discriminated against, and set at the back of the restaurant?†Swimp asked.
“Did you listen to the ACLU’s testimony? Because I’ll be happy to bring them back up again,†Foster replied.
“I just want to remind you of the lynching of Matthew Shepard,†state Rep. Henry Yanez (D) said to applause.
Lawmakers then killed the bill.
Dissatisfied with having successfully derailed legislation that would have extended basic protections to LGBT people, Pastor Swimp took to Facebook one day later.
“I have received over 252 hate emails- through my website- over the past 24 hours from LGBT advocates,” he claimed. “I shall not be moved by this satanic frenzy.” And then in the comments of his Facebook post, Swimp retaliated against the lawmaker who dared to remind him “of the lynching of Matthew Shepard.”
“Matthew Shephard was a victim of his own lascivious lifestyle and criminal activities,” Swimp wrote, re-litigating Rep. Yanez’s statement.Â
When one person slightly challenged him, Swimp, mischaracterizing Yanez’s comment, responded, “I merely make the point that [Shepard] was not the victim of discrimination in housing or employment, as falsely alleged by homosexuals.”
Yanez’s Facebook page states he is married to Jane Ackley Yanez.
In another Facebook post, just one hour prior, Swimp also attacked people LGBT people and allies.
“Notice: Militant LGBT supporters will not be permitted to troll this Page, nor Mock God!,” he wrote.
Over the past two days- since my testimony in the Michigan House of Representatives against making sexual orientation a “civil right”- homosexuals and lesbians have trolled the Page.
This is what they do. They try and take over Christian Pages and, via slander campaigns, threats, vile attacks, and profanity- intimidate opposition into silence or conformity.
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Image via YouTube
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