Anti-LGBT evangelist Franklin Graham is defending the pastor who delivered an anti-gay opening prayer on the floor of the Virginia House this week, prompting Democratic lawmakers to walk out.
“Here's a guy who's got guts for Jesus,” Graham wrote on Facebook on Friday morning. “Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates treated this African American pastor with contempt. Rev. Dr. Robert M. Grant, Jr., was invited to pray and he took a stand for life, marriage, and biblical principles. He was heckled by some, some walked out, and then he was cut off by the gavel of the Democratic Speaker of the House. They didn't want to hear the truth. But what Pastor Grant said was truth. He's right—these are crucial times. He urged lawmakers to honor God's laws and be aware of His judgment. You can see what happened in the video in this news link. I just love this guy.”
Pastor Grant made headlines when he warned the Democratic-controlled House against invoking “God's wrath” as lawmakers prepared to pass progressive legislation dealing with abortion, gun rights, and LGBT issues.
“Please do not provoke his anger and bring wrath upon this state by what you create as law,” Grant said. “Biblical history is very clear his wrath upon the earth is documented. We are not exempt.
“Marriage is to join a biological male and a biological female in holy matrimony, not to provoke the almighty God,” Grant said, before Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn cut him off with her gavel.
In related news, Graham is reportedly scrambling to find new sites for a tour of the United Kingdom this summer, after eight venues canceled scheduled appearances over his anti-LGBT views. Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, also says he plans to sue the venues that canceled.
“It is said by some that I am coming to the UK to bring hateful speech to your community. This is just not true,” Graham wrote on Facebook in late January after the first few venues canceled. “The rub, I think, comes in whether God defines homosexuality as sin. The answer is yes.”
