N.C. Pastor’s Viciously Anti-Gay Diatribe Goes Viral
Pastor Charles L. Worley made headlines this week after his anti-gay sermon, where he says he wants to "get rid of all the lesbians and queers," was caught on tape and went viral on YoutTube.
Worley, a pastor at the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C., spewed anti-gay rhetoric during his sermon, in which, among other things, he said he'd like to see gay men and lesbians in concentration camps.
"Build a great big, large fence -- 50 or a 100 miles long -- and put all the lesbians in there. Fly over and drop some food," the pastor said. "Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals - and have that fence electrified so they can't get out. Feed 'em. And you know in a few years, they'll die out. You know why? They can't reproduce."
Worley, 71, also slammed President Obama for his stance on marriage equality and called him a "baby killer" and a "homosexual lover."
"I've never been as sick in my life of our president getting up and saying it was alright for two women to marry, or two men to marry. I can tell you right now, I was disappointed bad," he said. "I'll tell you right there, it's as sorry as you can get. The Bible is against, God's against, I'm against and if you've got any sense you're against!"
At times during the clip, members of the audience can be heard shouting out "Amen" to the pastor's anti-gay comments.
The New York Daily News reports that according to the church's website, Worley has been a pastor there since 1976.
The original video from the church was taken down after national media, including CNN's CNN's "Anderson 360," began paying attention. But clips have survived on YouTube and hits are running into seven figures.
CBS News also reported about the incident and said that members of a LGBT organization in North Carolina were outraged by Worley's remarks.
"Calling for violence against and mass murder of minorities is inexcusable," said Matt Comer of the Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality. "My heart aches for any of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender young people in his congregation forced to listen to this message of hate and violence. Physical, emotional, verbal and spiritual violence against any person has no place in civilized society."
The Charlotte (N.C.) Observe, reported that the pastor's sermon riled up a number of people in the state. A group of individuals, who are calling themselves the Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate, are planning a protest outside the Providence Road Baptist Church -- the church where Worley delivered his anti-gay speech.
The group will protest the church and Worley this Sunday.
"We will not scream, shout or taunt Pastor Worley or his church's members," the group stated in a message. "We will not vandalize, threaten or injure property or persons."
Activist and North Carolina resident Lisa Tipton told the New York Daily News that Worley's comments are intolerant and says that the group's protest is not anti-Christian.
"To hear this kind of hate being preached, this kind of intolerance, it hurt me, and I'm not even part of the LGBT community," Tipton told the newspaper.
"This is not a protest against faith or religion," she said. "I believe we will have Christians at this protest. This is against a man who has the power to mold minds and influence opinions . . . and this is the message you're sending?"
Worley's comments come just weeks after North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex couples from marrying in the state.
Earlier this month another North Carolina pastor was in the spotlight after he also made violent anti-gay comments during his sermon. Pastor Sean Harris of the Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville told members of the church that parents of gay sons should punch them if he is effeminate and "crack that wrist" if he has a limp wrist.
Harris later claimed his remarks were a joke, that he does not encourage beating children and wishes that he could take back his statements. But the pastor did say that parents should "reinforce traditional gender roles in children," the Associated Press points out.
Watch the controversial video below: