Jimmy Swaggart Publicly Pledges To Kill Gay Men

by Reid Dennis for the San Francisco Spectrum

After homophobic televangelist Jimmy Swaggart (he does not deserve the title of Reverend before his name) made a public statement during his preaching recently over the airwaves, Equality California, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and other groups made their own statement.

Swaggart had stated, according to a transcript of the program, “I'm trying to find the correct name for it...this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men.” Then he added, “I’ve never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I’m gonna be blunt and plain: if one ever looks at me like that, I’m gonna kill him and tell God he died.” Swaggart apparently got a positive response from the congregation.

Never mind the fact that no man in his right mind would want this dried up old windbag of hate speech, but the fact that he would commit two sins in the eyes of his God—killing and lying—just adds to the man’s hypocrisy. You will recall he even had sex with a prostitute in the past. Not exactly the model of Christianity.

“Equality California is outraged by evangelist Jimmy Swaggart's televised statement made while he was stating his opposition to same-sex marriage that he will kill gay men if they look at him ‘like that’,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoffrey Kors. “This statement was met by applause by Swaggart's fans. These are no doubt some of the very people who are mounting a campaign against SB 1234, California's Omnibus Hate Crimes Bill by Senator Kuehl that is awaiting action by Governor Schwarzenegger. It is time for the politics of hate to stop. Equality California urges Governor Schwarzenegger to continue to stand up to extremists who oppose equality and advocate violence by signing the hate crimes bill and sending a message that hate violence will not be tolerated in California.” Kors’ statement was made prior to the Governor’s signing SB 1234.

“The leaders of major organizations heading the campaign to deny same-sex couples equal marriage rights frequently say that they do not hate gay people and that they respect us as human beings,” said Matt Foreman, Executive Director of NGLTF. “In a national simulcast to oppose same-sex marriage, for example, Focus on the Family President Dr. James Dobson said, ‘I'm not here to cast aspersions on homosexuals. They need our acceptance and respect... We are not hateful people.”

The Task Force called upon the leaders of the simulcast, including Dobson, Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Ted Haggard (National Association of Evangelicals, and Richard Land (Director of the Religious Liberties and Ethics Division of the Southern Baptist Convention), to immediately denounce anti-gay violence and specifically repudiate the so-called evangelist.

A complaint was filed with a Canadian broadcasting group, and Swaggart said his Baton Rouge-based Jimmy Swaggart Ministries has received complaints from gay groups everywhere over the remarks made on the telecast. After much pressure, Swaggert apologized weakly, saying he has jokingly used the expression "killing someone and telling God he died" thousands of times, about all sorts of people. He said the expression is figurative and not meant to harm.

Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was the first national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights and advocacy organization and remains the movement's leading voice for freedom, justice, and equality. They work to build the grassroots political strength of our community by training state and local activists and leaders and organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation. Their Policy Institute, the community's premiere think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality. As part of a broader social justice movement, they work to create a world that respects and makes visible the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society. Headquartered in Washington, DC, they also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Cambridge.

Founded in 1998, Equality California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to ensure the dignity, safety, equality and civil rights of all LGBT Californians. Equality California is one of the largest and fastest growing statewide LGBT organizations in the country.

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