Sept. 13, 2001 - National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Lorri L. Jean issued the following statement today in response to Jerry Falwell's assertion that "gays and lesbians," among others, are to blame for the tragedies in New York City and Washington, D.C.:
"The terrible tragedy that has befallen our nation, and indeed the entire global community, is the sad byproduct of fanaticism. It has its roots in the same fanaticism that enables people like Jerry Falwell to preach hate against those who do not think, live, or love in the exact same way he does.
"The tragedies that have occurred this week did not occur because someone made God mad, as Mr. Falwell asserts. They occurred because of hate, pure and simple. It is time to move beyond a place of hate and to a place of healing. We hope that Mr. Falwell will apologize to the U.S. and world communities.
"Our hearts go out to the victims of this week's tragedies and their friendsand family members. We are thankful to the police officers, firefighters,paramedics and other emergency personnel who are working tirelessly to leadthe relief efforts."
A transcript of Mr. Falwell's remarks follows:
"The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this. And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God or successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen'."
-- Jerry Falwell, The 700 Club, 9/13/01
