GOP congressman defends reading Bible verse about putting gays to death
Rep. Rick Allen says he is praying for the victims at Pulse nightclub, but doesn't regret reading anti-gay verse
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) is standing by his decision to read an anti-gay Bible verse during a closed meeting of the House Republican caucus — which caused several of his fellow Republican congressmen to walk out in protest.
According to Roll Call, Allen read Revelations 22:18-19 and Romans 1:18-32 during the meeting last month. Romans 1:27 condemns homosexuality and suggests that those who engage in it will be punished accordingly.
The King James version of the passage reads: “Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one for another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
As The Hill reported at the time, Allen’s decision to read that passage was interpreted by some of his fellow Republican congressmen as an attack on their support for a pro-LGBT amendment that was added to a water and energy spending bill. Forty-three Republicans approved an amendment offered by U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) that would have enforced an executive order issued by President Obama that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
That bill was later defeated, but Republicans who had voted for the amendment told The Hill they felt that Allen’s choice of passage was singling them out for criticism.
Asked for comment about his decision to read the passage containing the verse calling for the death of gays, Allen told Roll Call: “Well, I’m imperfect. And I consider that we are all imperfect and we all fall short of the glory of God, which is why we need a savior, by the way.”
Allen also told the paper that he read the verse because he believes a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values needs to come together, but that he does not condemn anyone. He also likened it to a selection that he might pick for a private Bible study session.
Allen’s office insists that the congressman read other verses that condemn other types of sin, and did not have malicious intentions when he chose which verses to read. A spokeswoman for the congressman rejected the idea that he had wished death on gay people. Both Allen and his office also noted that the caucus meeting was supposed to be private, and not open to the press or the public.
“Again, he read Revelations 22:18-19 and Romans 1:18-32 while delivering a prayer in a private closed-door meeting, not in front of a crowd, to the press or out in public,” Allen spokeswoman Madison Fox said in a written statement. “The passage in Romans discusses sin, in all its shapes and sizes. The congressman will be the first to admit that he is a sinner, as we all sin — but he never condemned anyone or would condemn anyone, especially not to death.”
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