Florida church throws 'Make America Straight Again' event during Gay Pride Week
A Florida church is holding a three-day “Make America Straight Again” conference during Gay Pride Week.
The conference’s promotional video, hosted by the Revival Baptist Church of Orlando in Clermont, shows Pastor Patrick Boyle calling gay people “sodomites” and saying, “We’ve chosen this place and time because this is their Gay Pride Week in Orlando. And they’re going to be out, proud of who they are and daring someone to say something, and we’re going to go ahead and take them up on it…”
Boyle says in one clip, “We hate homosexuals around here because God hates them.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Orlando rejected the church’s request to privately guard the event, which begins on Friday, days after the three-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre that killed 49 people.
“We turned down the church's request to hire privately-paid, off-duty officers for their event because this pastor thinks the government should execute the gay community,” Lt. John Herrell tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
Herrell also told the Orlando Sentinel, “It looks like a hate group, and we decided we didn’t want to be involved...”
According to Fox 32, the sheriff’s department said that it appears as if the organization “disparages homosexuals and will be targeting them during the group’s conference this week.” The statement continued, “We felt as though the timing of the conference is in poor taste and we chose not to allow the group to hire our deputies. We are, however, aware of the potential for protests and are currently discussing the possibility of an increased presence in general for the event in order to ensure everything remains peaceful.”
A representative of the Revival Baptist Church of Orlando did not return an interview request from Yahoo Lifestyle. The conference is reportedly held in a secret location to avoid protesters. “We’re not trying to pick a fight,” Pastor Patrick Boyle told the Orlando Sentinel.
Boyle is reportedly “discouraged” by the police department’s position.
“I mean, oh, you don’t believe politically like I do, so I can’t come protect you?” he told Fox 32. “All we were asking for is a police presence not an endorsement.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Texas school district donates money from anti-LGBTQ church to Pride festival
Teen fired from Christian camp counselor job for being gay: ‘I’m heartbroken’
Gay bar owner's alleged Facebook posts threaten his new business: 'I hate Israel'
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