Franklin Graham Speaks Out against the Equality Act, Says it Will Have 'Catastrophic Consequences'

Rev. Franklin Graham is voicing opposition to pushes by the LGBT community for the passage of the Equality Act.

According to Life Site News, Graham said the Equality Act will have what he called “catastrophic consequences” for women and religious groups.

The Equality Act would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include “sex, sexual orientation and gender identity” in the “non-discrimination” categories for public accommodations. The change would also require employers with 15 or more employees to recognize an employee’s chosen gender identity.

“If the Senate majority changes or if enough Republican senators change their position, it would be up to the president to veto the bill,” Graham said in the July-August issue of the Billy Graham Association magazine Decision. “And if that office were to change hands in 2020, I have little doubt this would become the law of the land.”

In May, the House of Representatives, which is predominantly Democrat, voted to pass the bill.

Graham said Christian employers “would lose all protections to hire people who adhere to their biblical statements of faith.

“Christians will be persecuted for their sincerely held beliefs as never before. The clear teachings of the Bible on the sins of homosexuality and abortion will no doubt be considered ‘hate speech.’ It will be a nightmare from which this nation may never recover.”

Jerry Pierce, also of the Graham Evangelical Association said the Equality Act would not make exemptions for religious institutions, which “explicitly invalidates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

The Conference of Catholic Bishops also weighed in on the issue in May.

“Rather than offering meaningful protections for individuals, the Equality Act would impose sweeping new norms that negatively impact the unborn, health care, charitable services, schools, personal privacy, athletics, free speech, religious liberties, and parental rights,” five chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) declared in May.

A date for the Senate to vote on the bill has not yet been chosen.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Stephen Chernin/Stringer