A small-town editor fired for his anti-gay commentary has launched a private news venture and is asking for $100,000. Guess how much he’s received?
Remember Bob Eschliman?
He’s the Iowa journalist who was fired as editor of a small town newspaper for very anti-gay comments he made in a blog on his personal website.Â
“I’d like to talk a little bit about deceivers among us, most notably the LGBTQXYZ crowd and the Gaystapo effort to reword the Bible to make their sinful nature ‘right with God,'” Eschliman wrote back in May of 2014. “A few weeks ago, I came across the website for the Queen James Bible (because King James was a flaming homo, don’t you know). The editors are very keen to let folks know they didn’t remove passages from the Bible, but instead reworded them to ‘make it more relevant.'”
“If you ask me,” his piece concluded, “it sounds like the Gaystapo is well on its way. We must fight back against the enemy.”
In the video below, he calls these remarks his “deeply-held religious views.” It’s unclear which religion calls LGBT people “the LGBTQXYZ crowd and the Gaystapo” and “the enemy.”
His bosses fired him.
In an editorial, they noted they had “lost some of that public trust that is so vital to our existence,” and “hope to begin earning it back,” presumably by finding a new editor.
Eschliman in July reportedly filed a federal complaint against his former bosses with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming he was fired for his religious beliefs. No word on if it’s been resolved.
But now, as Romenesko reports, Eschliman has started a news website, The Iowa Statesman, and is crowdfunding it at Indiegogo to the tune of $100,000. With just two days left, his campaign has taken in $4051 from 73 people.
Here’s his ask, in which he promises funders they will be “providing a real voice for our shared values,” presumably that LGBT people are “the Gaystapo” and “the enemy.” We expect the Letter to the Editor section to be particularly intriguing.
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_3qHc2RJXo
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Image: Screenshot via YouTube