A Sacramento pastor delivered a sermon in response to the Orlando shooting that not only condemned the LGBTQ+ community, but also praised the shooter of the attack, according to The Washington Post.
Pastor Roger Jimenez, of the Verity Baptist Church, expressed happiness about the shooting that killed 49 people and stands as the most deadly shooting in U.S. history.
He likened the innocent victims of the attack to pedophiles, saying, “Here’s the problem with that. It’s like the equivalent of asking me—what if you asked me ‘Hey, are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?’”
He added that “[t]he tragedy is that more of them didn’t die. The tragedy is—I’m kind of upset he didn’t finish the job!”
More alarmingly, Jimenez also said, “I wish the government would round them all up, put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad in front of them, and blow their brains out.”
Unsurprisingly, his hateful speech has been received with equal anger, with many calling it “propaganda” and “bigotry.”
In fact, Jay Brown, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, told the Post that “He’s preaching hate from the pulpit. His words offer no comfort to the survivors of the attack, to the family and friends whose loved ones they’ll never see again.”
Brown also felt sadness towards the LGBTQ+ youth in Pastor Jimenez’s church, who would feel particularly hurt by his hateful speech. However, the Verity Baptist Church’s website makes clear that no one identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community is allowed to join the church, referring to them as “sodomites.”
Sandrea Nelson, the Pride director of the Davis-Phoenix coalition, denounced Jimenez’s speech, telling CBS Sacramento, “It’s hateful and violent statements like these that keep many in the LGBT community shut out.”
“Bottom line is to love thy brother as you love thyself,” Nelson said.