Pastor Mark Burns wants to go to Congress. He is officially a MAGA candidate for Congress in South Carolina. Burns has decided that if elected he would call for the execution of any American who promotes ‘LGBTQ indoctrination.’ For treason, no less.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But around the world, there are those who will inevitably find reasons to deny that right to others.
How un-American can you get?
The right to freedom of speech, and hence, by extension, the right to freedom of thought, is so fundamental to the premise of America it is found in the very first Amendment to the Constitution. To be sure, the United States, through the courts, places limits on this freedom (you can’t yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater), but it is held to be an inviolate principle of American jurisprudence that people can express an opinion (even an unpopular or unsavory one) without fear of government censorship– or retaliation.
Maybe “Pastor” Burns doesn’t know that.
Speech that incites illegal actions or soliciting others to commit crimes isn’t protected under the First Amendment, though. So why isn’t Pastor Burns condemning the speech that incited the illegal attack on the Capitol Building? Why isn’t he calling for the executions of people actually found guilty of treasonous activity?
Burns is not an ignorant man. But this thought process is the unfortunate, but predictable, result of religious zealotry pushed askew by political indoctrination. While conservatism has many elements that commend it, Burns, like many others in the MAGA crowd have chosen the outermost extremities of that ideology as their place of refuge. Too bad.
The last time I looked, promoting sexual “indoctrination” of any kind isn’t illegal, let alone treasonous.
Why isn’t he also focused on the violent acts of insurrection actually committed and actually capable of destroying the republic? Maybe because he baselessly claimed, in the aftermath of the insurrection, that Antifa was responsible for the storming of the Capitol.
The world is full of ideas accessible to everyone of every age as a result of the internet. The LGBTQ community is only one of thousands of groups with “controversial” ideas. Many of the people opposed to LGBTQ are also opposed to Me, Too and BLM. Are they next, Mark?
Even though he has been a longtime supporter of former president Donald Trump, Trump refused to endorse him, and instead backed his opponent. It’s embarrassing.
Proverbs 4:7 says: Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
Sorry Mark, no votes for you.
