by Mike Andrew -
SGN Staff Writer
While Republicans blame 'radical Islam' for the mass murder in Orlando and call for more restrictions on America's Muslim communities, other religious extremists have stepped forward to spew hate at the victims, survivors, and the entire LGBT community.
Baptist pastor Steven Anderson, of Tempe, Ariz., for example, labeled the Orlando victims 'disgusting perverts and pedophiles.'
In a speech to his Faithful Word Baptist Church, Anderson proclaimed, 'The good news is that there's 50 less pedophiles in this world.'
And the bad news? The murders might be used to push restrictions on hate speech, Anderson warned.
'I'm sure it's also gonna be used to push an agenda against so-called 'hate speech,' he said.
'So Bible-believing Christian preachers who preach what the Bible actually says about homosexuality - that it's vile, that it's disgusting, that they're reprobates - you know, we're gonna be blamed.'
Anderson told his parishioners he doesn't want random shooters walking into Gay bars and killing people. The government should execute Gay people instead, he believes.
'Obviously, it's not right for somebody to just, you know, shoot up the place, because that's not going through the proper channels,' Anderson said.
'But these people all should have been killed anyway, but they should have been killed through the proper channels, as in they should have been executed by a righteous government that would have tried them, convicted them, and saw them executed.'
Anderson previously called for God to rip out Caitlyn Jenner's heart and advocated mass execution of Gay people to create an AIDS-free world.
Similar sentiments were expressed by a Baptist preacher in Sacramento, Calif.
'Are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?' Pastor Roger Jimenez asked in a sermon posted on YouTube. 'Um no, I think that's great! I think that helps society. I think Orlando, Florida, is a little safer tonight.'
The remarks were delivered at the Verity Baptist Church on the morning of June 12, just hours after the attack happened.
'We don't need to do anything to help. As far as I'm concerned, Orlando is a little bit safer tonight,' he said.
Jimenez's sermon went on to echo Anderson's call for execution of Gays by the government.
'If we lived in a righteous government, they should round them all up and put them up against a firing wall, and blow their brains out,' Jimenez said.
The pastors were joined by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has tried to turn himself into a national political figure by attacking his state's Transgender community.
In response to the shooting he posted a Bible verse on his Twitter account: 'Galatians 6:7 'Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.'
Not to be outdone by Christians, a Brooklyn Hassidic rabbi, Yosef Edery, celebrated the Orlando murders in a video.
'People were killed in an act of terror,' Edery said. 'Fine. If an Arab did it, good for him! God hates sin. They deserved to die. I have no mercy for people that God has no mercy for.'
Orlando human rights activists say religious bigotry contributed to a climate of hatred in which violent attacks like the Pulse murders could take place.
'Not only has the church contributed,' Marytza Sanz told reporters, 'but these politicians that have been bringing up the constant bashing of Muslims, homosexuality, women - I think this has been growing and growing until this time bomb exploded.'
Sanz is president of Latino Leadership, a non-profit that helps connect Orlando's Latino families with services and resources.
'This [shooting] is about violence that has been happening for many, many years,' Jorge Gutierrez, the National Coordinator for Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, added. 'We want to blame everything on one person, but this is not an isolated case.
'A couple of years ago, I was at that club. For us, the scary part is that that could have been anywhere. They look like us. That could have been any of us.'
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