{"id":18721,"date":"2015-05-12T10:20:03","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T14:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/arizona-pastor-steven-anderson-claims-anti-gay-businesses-are-destroying-america-by-being-too-nice-to-lgbt-customers\/"},"modified":"2015-05-12T10:20:03","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T14:20:03","slug":"arizona-pastor-steven-anderson-claims-anti-gay-businesses-are-destroying-america-by-being-too-nice-to-lgbt-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/arizona-pastor-steven-anderson-claims-anti-gay-businesses-are-destroying-america-by-being-too-nice-to-lgbt-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Pastor Steven Anderson Claims Anti-Gay Businesses Are 'Destroying America' By 'Being Too Nice' To LGBT Customers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona Pastor Steven Anderson Claims Anti-Gay Businesses Are 'Destroying America' By 'Being Too Nice' To LGBT Customers<\/b>
\nBakeries, florist shops and other venues have become a surprising battleground<\/a> for lesbian<\/a>, gay<\/a>, bisexual<\/a> and transgender (LGBT) rights in recent years, with many right-wing pundits proudly supporting business owners who have turned away same-sex couples seeking cakes<\/a>, bouquets and other wedding-related services. <\/p>\n

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that Pastor Steven Anderson of Arizona’s Faithful Word Baptist Church takes a defiant stance against those conservative entrepreneurs<\/a>, arguing that they are actually “being too nice” to the LGBT community and, as such, “are not standing for the word of God.” <\/p>\n

In a fiery, somewhat convoluted sermon originally posted by The New Civil Rights Movement, the right-wing pastor pointed to Oregon’s Sweet Cakes by Melissa<\/a>, whose owners, Aaron and Melissa Klein, were recently slapped with a fine<\/a> of at least $135,000 for turning away a lesbian couple<\/a> who sought a wedding cake in 2013. <\/p>\n

He said he didn’t feel sorry that the Kleins had been fined and shuttered their business<\/a> in the wake of the controversy, because he believes that “they are tools of the media to brainwash you.”<\/p>\n

Arguing that the Kleins attend a “stupid, liberal church,” Anderson notes, “[Melissa] is not taking a stand [against same-sex marriage] at all. It’s weak, it’s worthless. She is part of what is destroying America.” <\/p>\n

He then adds, “Who thinks it’s a hard decision if some faggot wants you to make them a wedding cake? Anyone struggling with that right now?”<\/p>\n

He also had harsh words for Indiana’s Memories Pizza<\/a>, which became the first business to publicly vow to reject gay<\/a> weddings in the wake of the state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act<\/a>.” <\/p>\n

“Nobody even asked them to cater a wedding with cheap, stupid pizza,” he says. <\/p>\n

Anderson, who “holds no college degree but has well over 140 chapters of the Bible memorized word-for-word<\/a>” according to his church’s website, is no stranger to controversial declarations. In early December, he argued that “we can have an AIDS-free world by Christmas<\/a>” if gays<\/a> were “executed.”<\/p>\n

He has also suggested that women should be silent in church<\/a>, claiming in a sermon, “I suffer not a woman<\/a> to teach nor to usurp authority over the man<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms.<\/a> It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.<\/p>\n

www.huffingtonpost.com\/2015\/05\/12\/steven-anderson-anti-gay-bakery-_n_7259316.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arizona Pastor Steven Anderson Claims Anti-Gay Businesses Are 'Destroying America' By 'Being Too Nice' To LGBT Customers Bakeries, florist shops and other venues have become a surprising battleground for lesbian<\/a>, gay<\/a>, bisexual<\/a> and transgender (LGBT) rights in recent years, with many right-wing pundits proudly supporting business owners who have turned away same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a> seeking cakes, … Continue reading Arizona Pastor Steven Anderson Claims Anti-Gay Businesses Are 'Destroying America' By 'Being Too Nice' To LGBT Customers<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nArizona Pastor Steven Anderson Claims Anti-Gay Businesses Are 'Destroying America' By 'Being Too Nice' To LGBT Customers - 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