The Trump campaign traded its usual anti-LGBTQ church venue for another this week, when JD Vance, candidate for vice president, held a student event in Mesa, Arizona.
Vance spoke before supporters at Generation Church as part of far-right voter outreach group Turning Point Action’s “Chase the Vote” campaign. He was welcomed to the chapel by pastor Ryan Visconti, a US Army veteran with a history of homophobic and misogynistic beliefs that mirror Vance’s.
Violence in marriage
Both Vance and Visconti’s record on domestic violence is that of detrimental advice for victims. The pair believe physical abuse is not a good reason to end a marriage, and that it’s better for children to live together with married, abusive parents rather than go through a divorce.
Disdain for abortion care
Unsurprisingly, the duo who encouraged the women abused by their husbands to remain married also share a staunch opposition to abortions.
“Abortion is the murder of children,” Visconti falsely claimed in an Instagram post. “Everyone who votes for abortion will have blood on their hands.”
Visconti celebrated the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that reinstated an 1864 law that banned abortions completely, with no exceptions for victims of sexual assault. He has called the procedure an “abomination,” and believes that anyone who considers themselves a Christian is duty-bound to oppose abortion care in any form.
Erasing the LGBTQ community
Visconti has a vitriolic attitude towards the LGBTQ community, and has built that into his church teachings. Generation Church denies the existence of transgender people, and only recognizes marriages between men and women. Visconti has openly stated that same-sex couples should not exist, and discourages people from associating in any way with members of the LGBTQ community.
“There’s absolutely no way a Christian can attend a ‘gay wedding’ without signaling shared celebration, approval, or affirmation to at least some extent,” Visconti posted on Twitter. “Should God’s people participate in a celebration of detestable sin? No!”
On another occasion, Visconti posted that, “if you think Jesus would have winked at gay people getting married and serving in church unrepentant, then you’ve got another Jesus than I do.”
________________
Read more at
