'Hunt-a-Homo Week' Proposed by Pastor

For real. 1995 sermon comes back to haunt Baptist homophobe
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Suggested by MarionRozelle
Posted May 24, 2010 11:03 AM CDT

Are you a non-homophobic person looking for something to get very, very angry about? Then check out this horrifying audio Dan Savage has dredged up of a sermon given by Pastor Jeff Owens, of the Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church in West Virginia. “In America we need to stop burning flags and start burning fags,” the loving pastor thunders. “We need hunt-a-homo week! Put it on television, that'll put 'em back in the closet. We need to take 'em all out and shoot 'em with a scatter shotgun.”

A video of the sermon started going viral on YouTube, but was recently pulled down. Owens has since apologized (see video), saying the sermon was given 15 years ago, when he was “young, stupid, and immature.” He says he still disapproves of the gay lifestyle, and doesn't advocate violence. But on his blog, Savage notes that Owen has been preaching since 1976, meaning he wasn't exactly a kid 15 years ago—in 1995, for those doing the math. (More homophobia stories.)

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