\n<\/p>\n
As you\u2019ve likely heard by now, House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/strong> has said some terrible stuff about the LGBTQ+ community over the last two decades, including calling homosexuality \u201cinherently unnatural\u201d and a \u201cdangerous lifestyle\u201d<\/a> and claiming that legalizing gay marriage would lead to people marrying their pets<\/a>. Yet, asked about his comments during an interview with Fox News shortly after he was elected House Speaker, Johnson replied, \u201cI don\u2019t even remember some of them.\u201d Did he disavow the things he has said? No, but claiming to barely even remember them appeared to be a calculated political move to suggest that it\u2019s possible he no longer believes the hateful, seemingly extremely homophobic remarks he made in the early 2000s. But, surprise! It sounds like Johnson still holds the very same views now that he did back then, and we know this because he voiced very similar ones just last month.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> reports<\/a> that on October 3\u2014just three weeks before he was elected House Speaker\u2014, Johnson participated in a prayer call where he declared that American society was \u201cso dark and depraved it almost seems irredeemable\u201d because fewer people go to church than they used to and one-quarter of high school students are \u201csomething other than straight.\u201d (As the Times, notes, Johnson \u201cappeared to be citing\u00a0a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0in which about a quarter of high school students in 2021 identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning or other.\u201d) \u201cWe\u2019re losing the country,\u201d Johnson said. He added: \u201cThe only question is: Is God going to allow our nation to enter a time of judgment for our collective sins? Or is he going to give us one more chance to restore the foundations and return to him? We need to turn to him. We need a revival.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, these are things Johnson said last month<\/em>. Could he have changed his beliefs in the ensuing 6.5 weeks? Uh, sure, but probably more likely, he still thinks America is going to hell in a handbasket because only 75 percent of high school kids are straight.<\/p>\n According to the Times, at the conclusion of the call, Johnson\u2014who once worked with a conversion therapy group<\/a> that claimed it could turn gay people straight\u2014\u201cchoked up\u201d as he said a prayer. \u201cWe repent for our sins individually and collectively,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we ask that you not give us the judgment that we clearly deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n