Christian Hate Group Returns To Bloomington To Bash Gays

Bilerico.com, Taking Down Words and Bladewire all caught it. The Rev. John Lewis and his gay bashing Old Paths Baptist Church came back for a repeat performance of good ole fashion gay bashing. Their latest appearance was a protest outside Bloomington’s Inner Chef, a gay-owned business. Lewis and about 25 of his followers burned a rainbow “gay pride” flag and held up signs with messages like “Fags Die, God Laughs.”

According to the Indiana Daily Student, yesterday’s protest was much larger than its past protests in Bloomington, “complete with children playing instruments and singing songs beside the sign-wielding adults.” Rev. Louis told the student newspaper that he burned the gay pride flag because he believes “gay people will burn in hell.” "The elite city of Bloomington harbors an elitist, faggot business called The Inner Chef which openly and unabashedly claim they are against God Almighty," Lewis said. "... We were there to cry against it. We burned the flag, and we will do it again."

Last summer, residents of Corydon saw their re-enactment celebration of Morgan’s raid disrupted by Lewis’ Christian hate group. So disturbed were the city’s leaders about the impact such demonstrations would have on the city’s tourism industry, the city attorney was asked to research ways the city could prevent future disruptive appearances by the group.

More recently, Sen. Brent Steele (R-Bedford) announced he would introduce legislation making it a felony for groups like Lewis’ and the Rev. Fred Phelps to stage similar demonstrations at the funerals of military veterans. Steele announced the move after Rev. Fred Phelps and his followers protested in Martinsville at the funeral of a fallen American soldier from the Iraqi War. Phelps and his followers claim that American soldiers deserved to die because of the country’s acceptance of homosexuality, and that their deaths were God’s punishment to America.

In introducing the legislation, Steele expressed no disapproval of the anti-gay message; only that it was directed at the family of a fallen soldier, a group favored by Sen. Steele. You probably won’t be hearing any words of disapproval for Monday’s protest in Bloomington from Sen. Steele and the supporters of his legislation.