No surprise here, but three fervent supporters of North Carolina's anti-LGBT HB2 law are also part of Ted Cruz's faith advisory council: Charlotte pastor turned congressional candidate Mark Harris and the Benham brothers, who used to have a real estate flipping show until they were exposed for being virulently anti-gay. Hannah Levintova reports on how they railed against Charlotte’s pro-LGBT measure:
in February 2015, Charlotte introduced its anti-discrimination ordinance and Harris and the Benhams snapped into action. Faith Matters NC, a grassroots religious liberty group vice chaired by Harris, took out a radio ad on a conservative talk radio station in Charlotte. "I'd be really scared if a man shared a bathroom with my daughter," says a woman in the ad, of the bill's provision allowing public-restroom use based on gender identity. "This nightmare could become a reality right here in Charlotte if we don't speak up quickly," she continues, encouraging listeners to contact their city council members and demand that they vote down the "bathroom bill."
The Benham brothers, meanwhile, headlined a rally to promote biblical values at Charlotte City Hall. And on a conservative radio show David Benham called the bill part of "the radical gay agenda's plan to change America."
The pro-LGBT measure failed last year but succeeded this year, which is what prompted state lawmakers to pass HB2.
And here's how the trio fit into Cruz's religious mix:
In February, Cruz appointed them to his campaign's advisory council for religious liberty, along with 16 other conservative Christian leaders. The GOP candidate has promised that this group will "guide his policies to protect religious liberty"—policies that could look very much like the anti-LGBT bill in North Carolina. The group is filled with key players in the anti-LGBT world, including Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council (which is classified as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center); it has already recommended that Cruz, if elected president, should stop federal employment discrimination protections for LGBT people, direct federal agencies to change their interpretation of "sex" to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity, cancel the mandate that employers provide contraceptive coverage, and much more. Cruz has surrounded himself with this group of anti-LGBT heavyweights, and the work of Harris and the Benhams in North Carolina provides a glimpse into what this group can accomplish when it comes to rolling back LGBT protections in the name of religious freedom.
Now doesn't that sound like a treat! Clearly a vote for Ted Cruz is a vote for taking HB2 to the federal level.