FOX News host Laura Ingraham invited the leader of a notorious anti-gay Christian hate group on her show to discuss the problems with Drag Queen Story Hours… only to end the segment abruptly after she realized he was the leader of a notorious anti-gay Christian hate group.

It’s like her producers didn’t even try to do minimal background research on Arthur Schaper, the California head of the hate group MassResistance and conservative writer. But they certainly figured it out after Schaper held up his book The Health Hazards of Homosexuality.

Ingraham introduced Schaper as the California chapter head of MassResistance, but didn’t note that the group that has been labeled as anti-LGBT after their members compared homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia — nor did this deter the Fox News host from inviting Schaper on the program in the first place. When Ingraham asked Schaper for his take, he quickly referred to the drag shows as “perverse programs” and said, “We’re not talking about diversity here, we’re talking about deviance.” “We’re talking about perverse and destructive lifestyles being animated or advertised to children as if it’s normal,” Schaper said.

Later, he referred to the events as “porn actor story hour.” Ingraham wasn’t bothered enough by that, either. Nor was she bothered enough to let her other guest, the more progressive Christian Jonathan Merritt, defend the events without interruption.

It was only when Schaper promoted his book that she finally cut him off… while still claiming that people have “legitimate concerns about both sides of the issue.”

Was Ingraham rattled by the overt homophobia or the shameless plug for self-promotion? What’s sad is that it’s really not obvious. But a more prepared staff — which Ingraham apparently lacks — would have done the homework by vetting the guests ahead of time so as to not get caught off guard on the air.

Or maybe FOX just had a hard time finding anyone who opposed the drag queen events who wasn’t part of some faith-based hate group.

(via Mediaite)

