The Washington Bladereports that Pastor Luke Robinson of Quinn Chapel AME Church in Frederick, Maryland (speaking at an anti-Question 6 event yesterday with Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council and state Dels. Neil Parrott and Kathy Szeliga), referred to Mayor Michael Bloomerg’s visit to the state to support marriage equality, just before Sandy struck:
“So here was the mayor of New York giving a quarter of a million dollars, coming down to Maryland discussing the matter,” said Robinson. “While he’s here somebody whispers in the ear, you better go back home and protect your stock because God is sending judgment. The thing came through the area. You have to understand the season and the time. It’s almost the end of hurricane season, but God sent one of the biggest hurricanes ever.”
Polls show Question 6 is a tight race. The opponents of Question 6 have been campaigning against it by trying to claim it infringes on religious liberty, even though the law that is up for voter approval contains robust protections for religious liberty. Pastor Robinson would not, should the measure be approved, be forced to preside over any same-sex marriage ceremonies. Nor, despite dire predictions of infringements on religious freedom, would the law’s passage prevent Pastor Robinson from making dumb pronouncements like this. He will still be free to claim that God left 40,000 New Yorkers homeless because their mayor thinks gays and lesbians should be able to marry. Isn’t freedom a great thing? It allows us to see how gay people make great spouses and parents, and to see how some people try to justify just about anything merely by invoking God.
