Donald Trump will be joining Marco Rubio at an anti-LGBT event held by homophobic religious leaders in Orlando on the two month anniversary of the Pulse massacre.
The Christian Broadcasting Network first broke the news that Trump would join in on the hate-fest, dubbed “Rediscovering God in America”, happening Thursday August 12:
Trump will speak to [700 evangelical religious leaders] about his push to repeal the Johnson Amendment. The law, which has been in place for decades, has made it more difficult for pastors to speak out on political issues and candidates from the pulpit. We should also note that U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate Marco Rubio will also speak to pastors at the two day event.
Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee and others have appeared at these private events before but this is Trump's first appearance.
Right Wing Watch reports that the founder of the group behind the “Rediscovering God in America” event, David Lane, plans to grill Donald Trump on whether he supports “homosexual totalitarianism”:
Self-described “political operative” David Lane founded the American Renewal Project as a way to mobilize conservative Christian voters and inspire right-wing pastors to run for elected office. He told Jacobs that he intends to quiz Trump on how he plans to fight “homosexual totalitarianism” and the gay rights “militants.”
Lane, a vocal opponent of LGBT equality, has said that “homosexuals praying at the Inauguration” in 2012 would cause “car bombs in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Des Moines, Iowa” as a sign of God's judgment and that the “pagan onslaught” of the LGBT rights movement will lead to the destruction of America.
Lane told Bloomberg that Trump's backing the Johnson Amendment is not enough to win his support. He wants Trump to show that he is decidedly anti-gay. Said Lane,
“…what about the religious liberty of Christian photographers, Christian bakers, Christian retreat centers, and pastors who believe same-sex intercourse and marriage is sin? These Christians were simply living out their deeply held convictions of their Christian faith when they politely refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding. Doesn't the First Amendment give us all a right to our beliefs?…Homosexual totalitarianism is out of the closet, the militants are trying herd Christians there.”
News of Trump's attendance come on the heels of his repeated claims that he is “pro-LGBTQ”, and a friend to “the gays.”
Rubio has defended his attendance of the event saying, “Leave it to the media and liberal activists to label a gathering of faith leaders as an anti-LGBT event. It is nothing of the sort. It is a celebration of faith.”
