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.
If Jimmy was a Christian, he'd be pumping gas for a living. But he's a wolf in sheep's clothing still duping enough senile old ladies to keep his scams afloat. I would not want to be Jimmy come judgment day.
>>>If we don't stay vigilant, we'll be on the same path soon, if we're not already.<<<
If the bleeding hearts get Kerry in office, I do believe we have HAD it as far as any kind of morals, ethics, integrity, on and on in America...NOT TO MENTION, God erased from the land...The Supreme Court has already about managed that one for them...
So he's not attracted to men, a matter of taste? What about taste? Judging by his taste in hookers... That was one skank whore that even Penthouse couldn't make look good.
***I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died." ***
Over the top? Come on, that is an old southern saying still used frequently by my mother-in-law and millions of others.
It's mild compared to some things I've heard.
Canada needs to get a grip on reality.
Actually, what he said was "IT'S AN A-BOMB-NATION!!! IT'S AN A-BOMB-NATION!!! AN A-BOMB-NATION!!!" The quotes were otherwise accurate; I watched the program with rapt attention.
I love Swaggart. He's everything a comedy routine preacher character should be.
Wow, Jimmy Swaggert is still alive!? What is he about a hundred and thirty?
He still around????
I don't know about this latest incident, but Swaggert has been known to preach strongly against his own weaknesses in the past.
I don't know about this latest incident, but Swaggert has been known to preach strongly against his own weaknesses in the past.
__________
If he thought he could make a buck off of it.
Swaggart seems to have missed his true calling. He needs to join the religion of peace and start on the path to becoming an Imam or a Mufti. Then he could say whatever he wants in Kanuckistan.
I'm amazed he's still in business selling snake oil.
Not any more you don't.
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including freedom of the press and other media of
communication;
Is that whacko still on television?
Jimmy's in the hole. He has to do something to get attention. The last time I saw him on TV, he looked awful and sounded worse.
I have not seen him. I think he is now local. Which is better than national, but still too much. He gives religion a bad name.
"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."
Bump and ping.
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1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.As usual, "democratic" means "socialist" and "free" means "nice", and the rest of this document means... whatever Liberal-appointed judges says it means. The legislature can override the Charter too:
33. (1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included in section 2 or sections 7 to 15 of this Charter.2 and 7 through 15 are the ones you want to have, like the right to free assembly and habeas corpus, as opposed to the rest which is about the right of disabled homosexual Inuit to taxpayer funded ice fishing, or something.
Our charter is self-negating! Go Team Canada!
OTOH, your amendments are pretty damn unambiguous, and that doesn't seem to help you guys, apart from the First...
It is an abomination according to the Bible.
Wow, I didn't know that. Kind of limited, I see. Not exactly the Constitution, is it? Thanks for the info, I'm perusing it right now.
And no FoxNews.
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