One of the most telling features of Glenn Beck’s 2010 Restoring Honor rally were the overtly religious themes of the rally, along with the launching of a Black Robe Regiment filled with right-wing leaders. The day before Beck’s latest really, Restoring Love, Beck and David Barton are hosting a who’s who of Religious Right activists for a “Christian Leadership Conference” called Under God: Indivisible, including some of the most prominent anti-gay preachers, activists and televangelists in the country:
David Barton
- Writes consistently debunked and discredited books about American history with a Christian Nationalist spin, arguing that the Founding Fathers would oppose everything from the separation of church and state to evolution and net neutrality.
- Claims that God is blocking scientists from finding a cure for AIDS in order to punish gay people, urges government regulation of homosexuality and believes public schools are trying to indoctrinate students into homosexuality.
- Asserts that Jesus spoke out against the minimum wage, fair employment practices, anti-discrimination laws and government regulations.
Tony Perkins
- Believes that gay rights advocates are “vile” tools of Satan.
- Accused gay right supporters of being responsible for incidents of suicide among gay youth for creating “a sense of despair that can lead to suicide,” and said that “abnormal” sexuality—not anti-gay bias—leads gay people to commit suicide.
- Likened homosexuality to pedophilia, alcoholism and adultery.
Ralph Reed
- Led the Christian Coalition alongside Pat Robertson but left following reports of financial misconduct, now heads the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
- Became embroiled in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal involving crooked deals with Indian casinos, and Abramoff later said Reed was a “tap dancer and constantly asking for money.”
- Alleges that America “lost its way” by helping the poor, putting liberty in “danger.”
John Hagee
- Claims God sent Hitler to be a “hunter” of Jews and led Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans in order to stop a “homosexual rally.”
- Refers to the Catholic Church as the “Anti-Christ” and the “whore of Babylon” and says the Antichrist will be gay and partially Jewish.
- Warns that God is punishing America due to homosexuality, abortion rights, and Harry Potter.
James Robison
- Believes same-sex marriage will ultimately lead to a “totalitarian” government like in The Hunger Games.
- Says that wealthy capitalists are victims of a form of “racism” similar to what African Americans experienced during the Jim Crow era and victims of an attack from the demonic realm.
- Thinks that Satan is using Glee to “bring us down.”
Rick Scarborough
- Maintains that AIDS is God’s punishment for homosexuality and warns of a looming “sexual anarchy led by sodomites.”
- Bemoans the supposed decline of non-white families because of its purportedly negative impact on “American values” and the Republican Party.
- While he is collaborating with Glenn Beck, a Mormon, he criticized Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith and said Christians should be wary about supporting Mormon candidates.
Harry Jackson
- Alleges that gay rights supporters are recreating the “times of Hitler” and are leading a “Satanic plot” against the black family.
- Asserts that gay rights will “bring us under” just like the iceberg that hit the Titanic.
- Believes a demonic power called the Queen of Heaven is behind the push for same-sex marriage.
Jim Garlow
- Claims the push for same-sex marriage is part of an “Antichrist spirit” that is led by Satan.
- Compares homosexuality to bestiality and same-sex marriage to slavery.
- Says that adoption by gay parents is akin to children losing their parents in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Richard Land
- Lost his radio show due to a plagiarism and racism scandal, despite working as the top ethicist of the Southern Baptist Convention.
- Argues that “the Devil” is behind “the homosexual lifestyle.”
- Defends the criminalization of homosexuality and claimed that gay rights advocates seek the “full-blown sexual paganization” of society.
Ken Hutcherson
- Insists that the gay community stole the rainbow symbol and the word “gay” from Christians.
- Hoped to lead an anti-gay marriage rally that would be a “spiritual bomb” comparable to the 2004 terrorist attack in Madrid, Spain.
- Wants the “promotion” of homosexuality banned just like “sugar and fatty foods in schools” since it is “dangerous and unnatural.”
Kenneth Copeland
- Contends God didn’t create gay people just like “He didn’t create anybody to be a murderer, He condemned murder; he didn’t create anybody a homosexual, ’cause He condemned homosexuality.”
- Became the subject of a Senate probe into his financial practices.
Aryeh Spero
- Maintains that homosexuality will lead to the end of the world because it is “so contrary to the order of God’s nature” that God will decide “to annihilate the world and start from the beginning.”
- Accused Obama of engaging in “ethnic cleansing” against Jews.
