Pete Hegseth Posts Video of Pastor Calling to Outlaw Gay Sex
Defense secretary shares video of Doug Wilson, head of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, making anti-LGBTQ and anti-women remarks.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has reposted a CNN clip featuring Doug Wilson, leader of the Christian evangelical movement he follows, in which the pastor calls for making gay sex illegal.
“In the late ’70s and early ’80s, sodomy was a felony in all 50 states. That America of that day was not a totalitarian hellhole,” Wilson says in the seven-minute segment, reports the Daily Beast.
Wilson goes on to say he wishes the United States would revive anti-sodomy laws, which criminalized same-sex relations — and, in some states, even certain non-vaginal sex acts between consenting heterosexual partners.
The laws punished sodomy — usually defined as oral or anal sex — between consenting partners with imprisonment or hard labor. Illinois became the first state to repeal its sodomy law in 1962, and others followed until the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the remaining bans in the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas.
The video clip also shows Wilson claiming that American slave owners were “decent human beings” and asserting that the country — and the world — should adhere to Christianity.
In another part of the clip, Wilson suggests that women — “the kind of people that people come out of” — should focus on having and raising children.
The clip also includes a pastor from Wilson’s church calling for repealing women’s right to vote, and another saying that, in his ideal world, people would cast ballots as households. A female congregant says she “submits” to her husband. CNN noted that Hegseth has publicly declared his support for Wilson in the past.
“All of Christ for All of Life,” Hegseth wrote on X, posting the CNN clip.
All of Christ for All of Life. https://t.co/QqXhqZFStv
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) August 8, 2025
The CNN clip’s comments on women’s roles have revived criticism of Hegseth’s past claim that women should not serve in military combat roles — a stance that nearly derailed his confirmation after Trump nominated him as defense secretary.
He later walked back the remarks and was confirmed by a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. Since taking office, however, Hegseth has imposed stricter fitness standards for women and removed at least five senior female officers from leadership roles.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Daily Beast that Hegseth is a “proud” member of a church tied to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches and “very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.”
In May, Hegseth drew criticism for bringing his personal pastor, Brooks Potteiger, to the Pentagon to lead a monthly prayer circle, during which Potteiger called President Donald Trump “divinely appointed.”
The prayer services, held inside the Pentagon during working hours, were promoted to Defense Department employees and service members through official government emails — prompting concerns that the Trump administration is pushing Christian evangelization among employees. The practice has also raised questions about whether it violates the Constitution’s ban on establishing an official state religion.
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