We get it. There are a lot of anti-marriage equality religious leaders out there. It's unfortunate, but it's true. However, most air their hate in the relatively sedate atmosphere of a church sanctuary. Most do not set up their web cameras, flip their baseball caps backwards, and reach for their trusty semi-automatic assault rifles in order to grace the world with their opinions.
Pastor Joshua Feuerstein took to his Facebook page, gun in hand, to tell the internet-going public exactly what he thinks about marriage equality.
From Logo's NewNowNext blog:
“They’re coming after our First Amendment constitutional rights! Well, check this out, this is one pastor that will not bow. Why? Because my First Amendment right (holds up gun) is guaranteed by my Second Amendment right. Think about that, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time that we finally take a stand and say no more. We’re not backing up any further. We’re not going to allow a tyrannical government to come in and strip away our rights as Christians and try to demonize us so that they can make the Bible bigoted.”
There's plenty to unpack in this statement, but any nuanced conversation to be had is overshadowed by the fact that Pastor Feuerstein is waving around a deadly weapon while spouting a wild-eyed version of the tired "discrimination of Christians" rhetoric. And therein lies the problem: the current talking points of the Religious Right actively encourage followers to feel as if they personally are being oppressed, as if the religion they hold dear will be wiped out in an apocalyptic, rainbow-colored explosion. Given this reinforcement, is it really surprising that those with a more tenuous hold on reality reach for their guns?