A science fiction author who opposes equal rights for LGBT people and has a history of comparing Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler was appointed to a board of trustees overseeing North Carolina’s public television stations this week.

In a statement on Monday, UNC-TV announced that Republican state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger had named Orson Scott Card to the UNC-TV Board of Trustees.

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“We are pleased to welcome Mr. Card to the UNC-TV Board of Trustees,” Chairman Robb Teer said. “We are grateful for his willingness to serve and look forward to working with him to continue providing the people of our state with enriching, life-changing television in these challenging times.”

In a column earlier this year, Card speculated that Obama “Obama will put a thin veneer of training and military structure on urban gangs” and turn them into “Brown Shirts.”

“Obama is, by character and preference, a dictator. He hates the very idea of compromise; he demonizes his critics and despises even his own toadies in the liberal press,” he explained. “Like Hitler, he needs a powerful domestic army to terrify any opposition that might arise.”

In July, the activist group Geeks Out called for a boycott of the science fiction movie Enders Game because it was based on Card’s novel.

Card, who is a Mormon, has been outspoken about his views on homosexuality and objection to same sex marriage. He has also been been board member of the National Organization of Marriage (NOW), which opposes equal rights for LGBT people.

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[Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons]