Charity head demands US-wide ‘referendum’ on scrapping same-sex marriage
TURLOCK, CA – MAY 29: Rev. Franklin Graham speaks during Franklin Graham’s “Decision America” California tour at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds on May 29, 2018 in Turlock, California. Rev. Franklin Graham is touring California for the weeks leading up to the California primary election on June 5th with a message for evangelicals to vote. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The head of a prominent Christian charity has called for a ‘referendum’ on whether to void thousands of same-sex marriages across the US.
Franklin Graham, the son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham, is the President of international charity Samaritan’s Purse.
He is listed as a trustee of Samaritan’s Purse UK, which runs the annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal – but is also an extremist opponent of LGBT rights.
This week, Graham called for a “referendum” on same-sex marriage across the United States, following the Supreme Court ruling last year.
In an interview with CNN, Graham said: “I respect the law of the land that has been approved of the constitution and the correct process.
“I don’t think the judges in Washington can make law. I don’t think that’s what they do, but it’s what they’ve done with the law as it relates to same-sex marriage.
“Almost every case where same-sex marriage was put to a vote, it was voted down by the will of the people, and it was judges who overturned the will of the people.
“I don’t take that as the law of the land. I think we need a nationwide referendum on this, and we’ll see what the people say.”
This comes despite thousands of existing same-sex marriages, which would presumably be entirely voided if such a referendum did occur and people voted against.
Graham has previously accused Obama of spreading ‘immorality’ and ‘sin’, while praising Russia’s Vladimir Putin for instituting a ban on ‘gay propaganda’.
Despite being on his best behaviour for CNN, Graham recently made much more extreme comments in an interview with a Russian outlet – repeating disturbing hateful rhetoric used by anti-LGBT activists in Russia.
Echoing the beliefs of vigilante groups that target gays in Russia, he claimed: “Homosexuals cannot have children, they take other people’s children.”
He added: “I very much appreciate that President Putin is protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda. If only to give them the opportunity to grow up and make a decision for themselves.”
Graham recently also declared that gay people are the “enemy”, saying: “We have allowed the enemy to come into our churches.
“I was talking to some Christians and they were talking about how they invited these gay children to come into their home and to come into the church and that they were wanting to influence them.
“And I thought to myself, they’re not going to influence those kids, those kids are going to influence those parents’ children.
“What happens is we think we can fight by smiling and being real nice and loving… we have to understand who the enemy is and what he wants.
“He wants to devour our homes. He wants to devour this nation.
“You cannot stay gay and continue to call yourself a Christian. You can’t do it.
“We have allowed sin to come into our churches, and we need to repent of our sins.”
Watch the video via Raw Story below:
