Franklin Graham has long since become a water-carrier for the far right. That's beyond dispute. But even with that to consider, a column he wrote for Decision magazine, the mouthpiece of his father's ministry, is breathtaking. Graham fils claims that Vladimir Putin is more moral than Obama because of his heavy-handed policies on homosexuality.
To be clear, I am not endorsing President Putin. To survive in the KGB and rise to power in Russia, you have to be tough. His enemies say he is ruthless. To some, he is a modern version of a czar. His personal life has its own controversies.
Isn’t it sad, though, that America’s own morality has fallen so far that on this issue—protecting children from any homosexual agenda or propaganda—Russia’s standard is higher than our own?
In my opinion, Putin is right on these issues. Obviously, he may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation’s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda.
Our president and his attorney general have turned their backs on God and His standards, and many in the Congress are following the administration’s lead. This is shameful.
The world used to look to America for moral leadership. But those days are long gone.
If I'm reading this right, Graham
fils is calling for the passage of a carbon copy of Russia's infamous "gay propaganda law"--a law that not only effectively criminalizes homosexuality, but also makes it a criminal offense to speak out for gay rights. In other words, Graham
fils is effectively calling for the First Amendment to be put in the shredder.
Graham fils then dug himself an even deeper hole by defending Putin's support of Syria. He claims that if Assad is overthrown, Syria's Christians are in deep trouble. While the current Syrian constitution guarantees equal protection for all citizens regardless of religion, Graham fils claims that would be swept away if Assad is pushed out. Um, Franklin? That constitution has pretty much been a scrap of paper since the declaration of a state of emergency in 1963. Although it was supposedly lifted in 2011, its substance still remains in effect.
This column was written on February 28--before the crisis in Crimea. Does Graham fils really want to be this close to Putin now, in light of this? After all, his dad got burned by being really close to Nixon.