Cruz: I Had No Idea The ‘Kill The Gays’ Pastor Who Hosted A Conference I Spoke At Was So Anti-Gay

CNN On-Air Told Cruz of Pastor’s Anti-Gay Hate Speech in Interview Before Conference

Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has built his political career by positioning himself as one of the most anti-gay Republicans in the 21st Century, but now he seems to be trying to appear supportive of LGBT civil rights. He’s even trying to claim he was wholly unaware of the violent and vicious platform of the organizer of a “religious freedom” conference at which he spoke last year.

Kevin Swanson has been dubbed the “Kill the Gays” pastor because of his positions on homosexuality. Right Wing Watch has repeatedly documented Swanson’s attacks on the LGBT community, calling him “a far-right pastor and host of the ‘Generations Radio’ program, on which he has frequently claimed that the government should put gay people to death, warned that the Girl Scouts and the movie “Frozen” turn girls into lesbians and blamed natural disasters on gay people and women who wear pants.”

Cruz spoke at Pastor Swanson’s Freedom 2015 National Religious Liberties Conference last year, but before doing so sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper, who point-blank told him Swanson has called for gay people to be put to death. Cruz, after being told what Swanson has said, responded by saying he doesn’t know what Swanson has said.

Right Wing Watch, today reporting on Cruz’s attempt “to rewrite history,” notes that before the conference they “publicized Swanson’s history — including his discussions of the death penalty for gay people.”

Cruz remained steadfast, attended the conference, shared the stage with Swanson, sat down and did a one-on-one interview, even joked about fantasy football with the “Kill the Gays” pastor.

Sen. Cruz, it should be noted, is no saint when it comes to the civil rights of LGBT people, including accusing them of waging “jihad” on Christians.

Asked Monday on a radio talk show about speaking at a conference organized by a religious zealot who has called for gay people to be put to death, here’s how Cruz responded, according to Right Wing Watch (audio below).

“He was an individual I didn’t know, I’d never met him,” Cruz told the hosts of the “John and Ken Show.” 

“I went to a conference on religious liberty because it is an issue I care very much about. After the conference, his comments were drawn to my attention and I denounced them at the time, I think they’re wrong, I totally disagree with them. I didn’t know this fellow and when I saw what he said, I came out publicly and said I disagree with what he’s saying.”

Note that Cruz says “after the conference” he learned about Swanson’s anti-gay comments, wholly ignoring the fairly extensive media attention his scheduled appearance garnered before the conference, and wholly ignoring the fact that he sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper who very clearly painted a picture of Kevin Swanson for Cruz.

“We need to be bringing people together and we need to be standing up for the rights of every American, that’s what I’ve done in the Senate and that’s what I’ll do as president.” 

Senator Cruz might want to check the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell, because it clearly states that same-sex couples have a legal right to marriage. Actually, he has. He called it “fundamentally illegitimate.” Is he now saying he has been standing up for that right and will stand up for that right as president?

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license