Evangelist Franklin Graham is one of those Christians who thinks he deserves respect by the sheer virtue of being a Christian with his last name. Maybe if his organization Samaritan’s Purse focused on helping people, that could be the case. But it’s not.

The organization requires all volunteers to be against marriage equality, against the existence of transgender people, against abortions even in cases of rape or incest, and for the idea that Jews and Muslims and atheists will be burned and tortured for all of eternity.

Whenever people point this out, Graham acts astonished, as if he can’t understand why anyone would care about his bigotry when he’s trying to help other people. He also can’t believe that anyone thinks he’s a bigot, even though he’s constantly using his platform to demean LGBTQ people.

It’s obvious why people have a problem with his ministry: If volunteers are required to be awful human beings, there’s no guarantee their cruelty won’t seep into their work. That’s why people are complaining about how New York City partnered with the group to set up a “68-bed respiratory unit” in Central Park.

During an interview on Tuesday with FOX News’ Laura Ingraham, Graham reiterated how he’s really all about love no matter how many examples of his hate are available online.

And listen, I’m not homophobic, and I’m certainly not going around bashing people because they may be homosexual. I believe in that God loves all of us. He created us all, but we also are sinners, and our sins separate us from God. And I want people to know how they can have a relationship with God, and that’s through faith in his son Jesus Christ. So, I don’t bash homosexuals. I want homosexuals to know the truth, that God does love them.

There’s nothing more homophobic than a Christian who keeps calling gay people “homosexuals.”

Graham think gay people can and should be cured, just as he thinks transgender people are fooling themselves. He doesn’t think gay couples should be adopting children because he doesn’t think there should be gay couples. To him, gay marriages are illegitimate. He “loves” gay people the same way a bully thinks he’s just toughening up his victims.

We get to decide his reputation, not him. And there are more than enough examples showing that Graham, and everyone who works for Graham, and everyone promoting Graham, and everyone defending Graham are nothing more than hateful bigots who shield their cruelty with Christianity.

Don’t fall for it.

(via Media Matters)

