Franklin Graham on Supreme Court’s LGBTQ Ruling: “My Rights Should Be Protected”

Never one to miss an opportunity to remind us how much he despises civil rights, evangelist Franklin Graham took to Facebook to express his utter dismay over the Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision saying sex discrimination laws apply to gay and transgender people.

I believe this decision erodes religious freedoms across this country. People of sincere faith who stand on God’s Word as their foundation for life should never be forced by the government to compromise their religious beliefs. Christian organizations should never be forced to hire people who do not align with their biblical beliefs and should not be prevented from terminating a person whose lifestyle and beliefs undermine the ministry’s purpose and goals.

As a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ, my rights should be protected. Even if my sincerely held religious beliefs might be the minority, I still have a right to hold them. The same holds true for a Christian organization. These are the freedoms our nation was founded on.

The Supreme Court does not override and will never overturn the Word of God. One day we will all have to stand before God, the Righteous Judge, whose decisions are not based on politics or the whims of culture. His laws are true and are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

To be clear, no one’s making Christian organizations hire anyone they don’t want to hire. The ruling doesn’t apply to churches. In addition, it’s an open question of whether the ruling applies to religious groups that receive federal funding. And even beyond that, there’s nothing preventing employers from openly stating other reasons to fire an LGBTQ employee. But in the secular sphere, people’s gender identity or sexual orientation should not affect their ability to be hired or keep their current job.

As the old adage goes, “Equal rights for everyone does not mean fewer rights for you; it’s not pie.” Leave it to Graham to complain about the prospect of other people having their rights protected. There is arguably no demographic that enjoys greater rights and privileges in the United States than Christians (white ones, particularly).

But to people like Graham, even a small step toward equality feels like persecution.