Franklin Graham: Rise in STDs Is Because of Hollywood and the Gays

Franklin Graham once again is attacking the LGBTQ community. The Christian evangelical minister who is closely tied to President Donald Trump took to Facebook this week to blame gay people for a nationwide rise in the rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

“God made us male and female and gave sex for us to enjoy inside a marriage relationship between a man and a woman—not two men, not two women. The Bible says that anyone who sins sexually, sins against their own body. How true,” Graham wrote.

He points to CNN’s reporting, which notes that for “the fifth consecutive year, combined cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis have risen in the United States, according to a Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on Tuesday.”

Graham notes, “An incredible 2.4 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases were diagnosed across the U.S. just last year alone. Hollywood is busy promoting promiscuity to the world—almost every movie, every television show is focused on sex. The saying goes, ‘sex sells.’ Well, the statistics in the CNN article verify that there’s a price to pay, and it is a very heavy price.”

In addition to blaming gay people and Hollywood, Graham manages to lay blame at the feet of the Democratic Party, calling the rise in STDs “a topic that probably won’t be mentioned in the upcoming Democratic debate.”

Young people aged 15-24, CNN notes, are experiencing the largest rise in STDs. But rather than call for an increase in fact-based sex-ed classes, Graham is silent. He also neglects to mention that President Donald Trump’s budget slashes sex education classes. while funneling $75 million to abstinence-only and “personal responsibility” sex-education programs, which have been proven to not only not work, but cause harm to teens.

The CDC report attributes the rise in STD rates to “multiple factors,” including:

Drug use, poverty, stigma, and unstable housing, which can reduce access to STD prevention and care
Decreased condom use among vulnerable groups, including young people and gay and bisexual men
Cuts to STD programs at the state and local level – in recent years, more than half of local programs have experienced budget cuts, resulting in clinic closures, reduced screening, staff loss, and reduced patient follow-up and linkage to care services