August 7, 2019
Trio of 2020 Dems Go to Church of Anti-LGBTQ Pastor
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
If Mike Pence's recent flurry of appearances with virulent anti-LGBTQ activists raised an eyebrow, consider revelations that two high-profile Democratic hopefuls for the 2020 elections put in appearances of their own last weekend at a church run by a homophobic cleric who declares gays to be "sinful" because of their innate sexuality, after a third was at the same church last month.
Kamala Harris and Corey Booker were in attendance at services conducted Aug. 3 and 4 at the Las Vegas church of the Rev. Robert E. Fowler, Sr., reported local newspaper the Mercury News. Bernie Sanders had a town hall there last month – an appearance that followed up on his having been there in 2016 (as was Hillary Clinton, the paper noted).
The paper recalled how Fowler has lumped LGBTQ people with child molesters, liars, cheaters, and others in the past, and took note that When interviewed on Aug. 4 about his past anti-gay rhetoric – specifically, his comparison of gays to child molesters – Fowler doubled down, declaring that all "sins" are of equal moral weight and "any sin is pretty bad for me."
Fowler, who is a Baptist preacher, also said any given sin is "enough to send you to hell."
The Mercury News quoted a political science professor, Melissa Michelson, who addressed the oversight on the part of those three campaigns, saying "it is important for candidates to be more careful about this sort of thing, because it sends a message that that sort of language isn" t="" necessarily="" a="" dealbreaker"="" when="" it="" comes="" to="" a="" politician's="" willingness="" to="" deal="" with="" a="" spiritual="" leader.
Michelson added that "visiting a house of worship where the religious leaders are not supporters is a choice, and it sends a message that those views are not abhorrent."
Harris addressed congregants at the church on Sunday morning, talking about one of the weekend's pair of mass shootings, the Mercury News reported.
"Whenever that hate reveals itself, it is incumbent on us to speak up and speak out, and it is incumbent upon us to agree that whomever is the subject of the hate should never be made to fight alone," the paper quoted Harris as saying, apparently with no irony.
Booker had attended services at the church on the previous day, media reports said.
Neither the Sanders nor Booker campaigns responded to requests from the Mercury News for comment. Harris' campaign offered the observation that Harris' "support and advocacy for LGBTQ equality has been unwavering throughout her career." The article also acknowledged that the three 2020 hopefuls have all demonstrated a commitment to LGBTQ equality under the law.
For his part, Fowler downplayed the significance of his anti-LGBTQ view in the nation's broader political context.
"I don't believe in being a one-item voter that everyone has to agree with me on this particular item," Fowler told the paper.
