'Go pick up a Bible': Speaker Mike Johnson defends anti-LGBTQ+ views [View all]

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/27/mike-johnson-christian-bible-lgbtq-abortion-rights

‘Go pick up a Bible’: Speaker Mike Johnson defends anti-LGBTQ+ views
Republican House speaker, who has advanced extreme views as attorney and legislator, says ‘I am a Bible-believing Christian’
Martin Pengelly in Washington
Fri 27 Oct 2023 08.45 EDT

Questioned about comments and actions deemed by many to be homophobic, the new Republican US House speaker, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, told Fox News his worldview was: “Go pick up a Bible.”

Speaking on Thursday, Johnson said he “genuinely love[d] all people regardless of their lifestyle choices.

“This is not about the people themselves. I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘… People are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview. That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it.”

The Louisianan, 51, won his final vote without Republican dissent but is a controversial pick nonetheless. Before entering Congress in 2016, he was an attorney for rightwing Christian groups and a state legislator. In both roles he advanced extreme views, particularly against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.

Johnson’s work for the Alliance Defending Freedom has attracted widespread attention. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors far-right activity, calls the ADF a hate group – a label it rejects.

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