New York –
Today, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) joined the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and others in decrying televangelist Jimmy Swaggart’s recent comments threatening violence against gays. During a Canadian television broadcast Swaggart said, “I’ve never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I’m gonna be blunt and plain: if one ever looks at me like that, I’m gonna kill him and tell God he died.”
“We have been pressing the connection between hateful verbal attacks by political and religious leaders and the violence experienced by our community for years, and lately a focus of our work has been the correlation between the hate rhetoric of ‘Christian’ Conservative and right-wing fanatics responding to the same-sex marriage debate and the tremendous and ongoing rise in reports of anti-LGBT violence,” said Clarence Patton, NCAVP’s Acting Executive Director.
According to NCAVP, reports of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender violence have risen at least 15% so far this year in some regions, such as New York, after a 26% national jump in the last six months of 2003.
“The fact is that you cannot have political leaders such as Rick Santorum and religious figures such as Jimmy Swaggart spewing such incendiary language while the President calls for constitutional amendments that would codify the marginalization of lesbians and gay men and not have action by the people who commit such violence. And Swaggart’s promise of murder has really crossed any line of civil and Christian dialogue,” continued Patton. “His contention that it was a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ statement doesn’t mean anything and can’t even begin to mitigate the hatefulness of what he said on September 12,” added Patton.
This case also highlights the importance of protecting transgender youth. “One of the most profound messages that must be learned from Gwen’s murder is that hate crimes are preventable and education is the key to prevention,” said Carolyn Laub, Executive Director of the Gay Straight Alliance Network. “Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and advocates need to continue to push California school districts to implement effective transgender inclusive anti-bias curriculum at all age levels.”
Though clearly opposed to lesbian and gay rights, most mainstream conservative Christian leaders have steered clear of explicit threats of violence such as those expressed by Swaggart. For example, earlier this week in a nationally simulcast forum on opposition to same-sex marriage cosponsored by Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Southern Baptist Convention, Focus on the Family President Dr. James Dobson said, “I'm not here to cast aspersions on homosexuals; they need our acceptance and respect... We are not hateful people.”
“As Christian organizations, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Southern Baptist Convention need to back those good words with good deeds and set an example of leadership by decrying both the incitement to and threat of violence against LGBT people,” concluded Patton.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) addresses the pervasive problem of violence committed against and within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and HIV-positive communities. NCAVP is a coalition of programs that document and advocate for victims of anti-LGBT and anti-HIV/AIDS violence/harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, police misconduct and other forms of victimization. NCAVP is dedicated to creating a national response to the violence plaguing these communities. Further, NCAVP supports existing anti-violence organizations and emerging local programs in their efforts to document and prevent such violence.
