To the surprise of nobody, Franklin Graham is back to hating on gay people, after denying he’s a hate preacher
Franklin Graham takes the stage at a Trump rally (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)
Fresh from his emphatic denials that he is an anti-LGBT+ hate preacher, Franklin Graham is back at work targeting gay people.
The pro-Trump evangelical leader has sought to play down his long record of anti-LGBT+ hatred as he prepares to head to the UK for a controversial trip during Pride Month, claiming that he preaches “love” in a letter to the LGBT+ community.
However, it didn’t take long for the mask to slip – and Graham is already back to praising claims that gay weddings will lead to homelessness and “fatherless children”.
He spoke out in support of reverend Robert Grant Jr, who delivered an anti-LGBT+ sermon to the Virginia House of Delegates last week.
Preacher claims gay weddings lead to homelessness and fatherless children.
Grant Jr, who had been invited by a Republican lawmaker to deliver an invocation, told the chamber: “I pray that we do not provoke God’s anger by making laws that can destroy the fabric of this great state. Please do not provoke his anger and bring wrath upon this state by what you create as law.”
He continued: “I pray that this chamber will uphold the Virginia family, that the bills and laws being passed will always protect the Biblical traditional marriage as God instructed the first man and the first woman in the Bible.
“That the two shall be one flesh, that a man and the woman shall be fruitful and multiply. We should never rewrite what God has declared, it’s not yours to change or alter.
“Marriage is to join a biological male and a biological female in holy matrimony, not to provoke the Almighty God.
“Without laws to protect traditional marriage, Virginia will be reduced to increased fatherless children and welfare victims and homelessness, a tax burden to us all.”
The prayer faced heckles from pro-LGBT Democrats present, with one delegate yelling: “Is this a prayer or a sermon?”
The House of Delegates speaker then brought the speech to an abrupt end.
Franklin Graham praises anti-LGBT+ sermon.
Weighing in on the anti-LGBT_ sermon on Facebook, Graham said he “loves” the preacher – though presumably not in the way that makes God so angry.
Anti-LGBT hate preacher Franklin Graham (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
He wrote: “Here’s a guy who’s got guts for Jesus. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates treated this African American pastor with contempt.
“Reverend Dr Robert M Grant Jr was invited to pray and he took a stand for life, marriage, and biblical principles. He was heckled by some, some walked out, and then he was cut off by the gavel of the Democratic Speaker of the House.
“They didn’t want to hear the truth. But what Pastor Grant said was truth. He’s right – these are crucial times. He urged lawmakers to honor God’s laws and be aware of His judgment.
“You can see what happened in the video in this news link. I just love this guy.”
Graham is known for praising Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws and blaming gay people for a “moral 9/11”, and has previously declared that gay people are “the enemy” of civilisation.
