Posted on 09/17/2004 8:25:44 AM PDT by pkajj
An Ottawa viewer's complaint about what he calls "outrageous" comments on homosexuality by American evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, has sparked an apology by the television station, and a complaint to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Vance Strickland wrote to Omni 1, a multicultural station based in Toronto, and to the CRTC, after stumbling on Mr. Swaggart's comments while channel surfing early Sunday morning. He wrote that Mr. Swaggart "was railing against gay marriage, which I think he is just ignorant about."
According to a transcript of the program, the flamboyant evangelist said: "I get amazed at these politicians dancing around this. I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men.
"I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died."
At this point, the audience applauds. Mr. Swaggart continues, and begins to yell:
"In case anybody doesn't know, God calls it an abomination, it's an abomination, an abomination!
"These ridiculous prosecutors, district attorneys and judges, they should have to marry a pig forever! I'm not knocking the poor homosexuals, I'm not, they need salvation just like everyone else. I'm knocking our pitiful politicians and lawmakers, and thank God President Bush has stated that we need a constitutional amendment stating that a marriage is between a man and a woman."
Mr. Strickland, a mechanical engineer who builds pieces for experiments by physicists at Carleton University, said "it is beyond my belief that anyone, let alone someone who calls himself a man of God, would say such things on Canadian TV."
Sandy Zwyer, Omni 1's program information co-ordinator, said yesterday that Mr. Swaggart's remarks were "a serious breach" of broadcast regulations, and the station's manager is reviewing the tape of the program.
When the Citizen contacted Mr. Swaggart's headquarters in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a woman in his office said "No sir, no comment today," and hung up.
Ms. Zwyer said Omni 1 will likely issue an apology, as it did in 2002, after Mr. Swaggart "slandered the Prophet Muhammad, called for the expulsion of Muslim students in the U.S., demanded the profiling of passengers with "a diaper on their head," and suggested violence against Muslims.
After the 2002 complaint, the station also promised to preview Mr. Swaggart's programs "second by second" in the future.
In 1983, the Canadian Human Rights Commission also heard a complaint that Mr. Swaggart's film, The Evangelist, said that homosexuals are "worthy of death." The commission ruled that the Human Rights Act was not contravened, as "sexual orientation" was not covered in the act.
Mr. Strickland's complaint to the CRTC has been forwarded to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, which handles such issues.
Ron Cohen has been the national chairman of the council for 11 years, and said he does not recall dealing with any previous complaints about Mr. Swaggart.
"That doesn't mean no complaint about Mr. Swaggart came to us. If the broadcasters felt in some way our rules were violated, or even tested, they might have considered it appropriate to make an apology," said Mr. Cohen.
However, the council has handled complaints of hateful comments about gays and lesbians on other Christian programs.
Vision TV aired apologies on air in 2002 after an evangelist, R.W. Schambach, said in a 5 a.m. telecast that homosexuals are demon-possessed.
In other past cases, the Broadcast Standards Council absolved evangelist James Robison and one of James Dobson's Focus on the Family programs of any abusive comment when the programs expressed the view that a homosexual lifestyle is biblically unacceptable. However, in a ruling on a 1997 program, the council ruled that the host of Focus on the Family on that occasion "whips up the sentiments of his studio audience against gays and lesbians. The intolerance and bitterness that drip from his lips are extreme."
In the early 1980s, Mr. Swaggart claimed to have 200,000 viewers on 200 stations and earnings of $100 million a year. His earnings and reputation were diminished in the late 1980s when he was twice caught in motels with prostitutes.
I wonder if Swaggart was quoted accurately.
As if checking into a cheap hotel room with hookers is much better.
Swaggart is such a sleaze it's hard to defend him no matter what he rants about. For him to be saying anything about anyone's sexual proclivities is absurd.
Methinks Swaggart doth protest too much.
Any comments that Swaggert made about killing homosexuals should certainly be condemned. Next, we should find out if these Canucks condemn comments about killing anyone who disagrees with their "anything goes" philosophy. Or if they've ever heard of the concept of free speech (they haven't). Maybe these SOBs should consider a 1st amendment. Oh, wait. That would require a bill of rights, wouldn't it?
Jimmy operates independently of God, apparently.
>>> I wonder if Swaggart was quoted accurately.
I hope not, and if he was, I think he exercised poor judgment. IMO, he should not be dragging the President's name into any diatribes when he is threatening to kill queers.
Sleazy or not, I'd rather live in a country where his type is allowed to have their say without going to prison, than to live in a country like Canada, where there is no such thing as a bill of rights, no freedom of speech, etc. Canada hasn't been a free country, ever, and lately has been sliding more and more toward oligarchy.
He should know, he's hired enough of them for the evening.
So9
Swaggart is nothing more than a snake oil salesman... I wonder if he ever lets the thought creep into his brain, that ONE day, he will actually have to answer for pretending to be a "man of God"....Jimmy I'd hate to be you on that day son!!!
Yeah, I think we can call that one "over the top" if this transcript is accurate.
Stay the heck off my side, Swaggart.
I'm against gay marriage, but Swaggart's hysterical rant just hurts the pro-marriage cause. Get a grip Jimmy! Also he's a total hypocrite and scumbag, as others have already pointed out. Still free speech is free speech, and as long as Swaggart didn't actually call for violence against gays, then his little rant should be protected. Of course that's how it would be in the US. In Canada there is no free speech anymore - hate speech codes are the rule of the land. I have a good friend who has dual citizenship and he told me of a case where a Canadian man ran a newspaper ad that solely consisted of Bible verses about homosexuality. Nothing but the Bible. This man was fined under the hate speech laws for the ad.
We are now getting to the heart of what "separation of church and state" TRULY means. Although I don't agree with Mr. Swaggart on many of his thoughts, he has (or used to have) the perfect right to speak his religious beliefs without persecution or threat of legal action from the state.
Hah! Good one! Oh, wait. Ugly mental picture (I'm going to my happy place...).
Yeah -- as though this isn't hyperbole??
Get real.
gay marriage aside, this is telling about his relationship with the creator -
Jimmy - its hate the sin - love the sinner......remember ?
this from a country that loves draft dogers do much they are going to build a statue for them...you know, I hate to say this, but I truly feel it....If they ever need protecting, I say let them call on France...Whoever the President is then, just just "let the phone keep ringing" if that call ever comes......COWARD LOVERS!!
Of course, we are all sinners, yadayada, but we all know that nothing we do approaches the sinfulness of those homos. There's sin, and then there's sin.
Hear hear! How can a country let itself slide into a totalitarian state so easily? If we don't stay vigilant, we'll be on the same path soon, if we're not already.
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