Franklin Graham gay rights controversy erupts in NYC during coronavirus relief work
Another controversy has flared up involving North Carolina evangelist Franklin Graham and the LGBTQ community. This time, it centers on Graham’s Samaritan Purse’s coronavirus relief efforts in New York City.
That work was praised by President Donald Trump this week. But LGBTQ advocates blasted Graham and his Boone-based non-profit for requiring volunteers to agree that “marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.”
That wording appears in a Statement of Faith which Samaritan’s Purse wants volunteers to review before going online to agree “to support the ministry guidelines.”
“It’s a shame that the federal government has left New York with no other choice but to accept charity from bigots,” N.Y. State Sen. Brad Hoylman tweeted.
When asked about the Statement of Faith, Samaritan’s Purse said in a statement: “We are a Christian organization and we hire Christians who share our statement of faith. We have a common denominator of our faith in Jesus Christ and sharing that hope.”
On Saturday, six tractor trailers left the Samaritan’s Purse office for New York, the U.S. virus epicenter. No Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are in New York City, a spokeswoman told the Observer Wednesday. The organization has teamed with New York-based Mount Sinai Hospital for the effort, according to media reports.
Samaritan’s Purse trucks delivered a 68-bed emergency field hospital, medical supplies and equipment, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. An advance team, including a Samaritan’s Purse doctor, had left Friday night for New York, according to the ministry.
In a post on its website Saturday about the New York field hospital, Samaritan’s Purse said, “Licensed Christian healthcare workers are needed to serve with Samaritan’s Purse as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 1,096 people had died in New York City due to the virus, Spectrum News NY1 reported. As of Wednesday morning, at least 3,800 people had died from the virus in the U.S., CNN reported.
‘Being gay is not a sin’
The arrival of Samaritan’s Purse in New York City drew the wrath of some gay-rights advocates over Graham’s numerous past comments regarding the gay community, as well as its Statement of Faith.
“Viciously anti-LGBTQ group runs Central Park tent hospital & forces volunteers to reject gay rights,” read a headline on LGBTQNation.com Tuesday.
Sen. Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat and self-described “gay dad; public school parent; husband to David,” also tweeted, “Being gay is not a sin. Telling LGBTQ New Yorkers that they are wrong to love their partners might qualify.”
In a statement, Graham said this about the senator’s concern: “We certainly do not discriminate, and we have a decades-long track record that confirms just that... Our doors at the Emergency Field Hospital in the East Meadow are going to be open to all New Yorkers who need our help.
“This is a time for all of us to unite and work together, regardless of our political views,” he said.
Graham: Set aside politics
Graham appeared to touch on a response to the criticism in an interview on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program Monday night.
“I told (Hannity) that people need to set aside their politics and work together to fight this virus,” Graham posted on Facebook Tuesday. “As a nation we are facing a crisis, and we need to turn to God for His help.”
Trump praises Graham
Hoylman’s criticism came the same afternoon Trump praised Graham and Samaritans Purse at the president’s daily coronavirus news conference.
“Franklin Graham is an extraordinary person, and Samaritan’s Purse has been, like so many others, just been amazing,” Trump said at Tuesday’s news conference.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio likewise praised Samaritan’s Purse, and a City Hall spokesperson sidestepped the controversy over the Statement of Faith, Gothamist.com reported. City Hall is confident the joint effort by Samaritan’s Purse and New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital will save lives, Gothamist.com reported.
On Facebook Monday night, Graham asked his more than 8.3 million followers to “take a moment to pray for the doctors and all of the medical professionals who are battling this invisible enemy of COVID-19.”
Prior criticism
Graham has faced criticism numerous times in the past for remarks about the LGBTQ community.
In 2018, a transit company in England yanked ads from the sides of its double-decker buses promoting a Graham crusade in the seaside resort town of Blackpool.
And Graham’s LGBTQ views also prompted every city on his planned 2020 summer preaching tour of Great Britain, beginning with Liverpool, England, to cancel his appearances. Graham has vowed to appear in the cities, regardless.
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 3:07 PM.