Minister Kicked Off Panel After Remarks on Gays
A Baptist minister was removed from the city’s Human Rights Commission on Monday after saying homosexuals were an abomination and contending that the Bible says gay men should be stoned to death.
Mayor Frank Jordan ordered the Rev. Eugene Lumpkin of Ebenezer Baptist Church off the commission. He had asked him to resign last week but Lumpkin refused.
The mayor “could not justify someone being on the Human Rights Commission who justifies violence, whether based upon biblical passages or otherwise,” said Noah Griffin, a spokesman for Jordan.
Lumpkin said his comments were taken out of context and that he did not call for killing homosexuals but only agreed with a talk show host that the Bible advocates such punishment.
Lumpkin’s attorney, Brad Dacus, said the minister’s removal violated his constitutional right to freedom of religion. He would not say if Lumpkin planned to sue to get his job back.
The 11-member commission’s duties include handling reports of discrimination and hate crimes.
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