Petition: Andy Gipson

Don’t Let Mississippi Republican Get Away With Promoting Violence Towards Gays

PETITIONS, POLITICS — BY JOSH SAGER ON MAY 22, 2012 2:00 AM 

Sign the Petition: http://forcechange.com/21469/dont-let-mississippi-republican-get-away-with-promoting-violence-towards-gays/

Target: Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef

Goal: Demand that the Mississippi State Republican Party denounce the violently ant-gay comments of state representative Andy Gipson.

Mississippi State Representative Andy Gipson (R-MS) wrote a comment on his Facebook wall that promoted violence towards gay individuals. Any call for violence by a public figure, even one shrouded in a religious quote, should not be tolerated by the public and the offending individual should be compelled to condemn their violent remark. It is important to note that this is not intended to suppress the First Amendment right to free-speech, but rather the representative’s advocating for violence. For example, it is protected speech – if disrespectful – to condemn gays, but it is not protected speech to suggest that they be dealt with violently.

Gipson’s Facebook post read as such: Been a lot of press on Obama’s opinion on “homosexual marriage.” The only opinion that counts in God’s: see Romans 1:26-28 and Leviticus 20:13. Anyway you slice it, it is a sin. Not to mention horrific social policy.”

While the Romans bible verse condemns homosexuals as immoral, it does not promote violence towards gays and is not the focus of this petition; however, Leviticus 20:13 translates as “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.” (English Standard Bible).

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but the use of a bible passage explicitly supporting the murder of homosexuals is far outside the bounds of acceptable political discourse. As Gipson quotes this passage of the bible after claiming that “God’s opinion” is the only one which matters, it is clear that he is explicitly supporting violence towards gays – who, at most recent count compose of over 5% of the US population.

It is absolutely unacceptable for a serving politician to condone violence towards an entire segment of the population, particularly in the face of the increasing number of anti-gay hate crimes in the US, yet Gipson has refused to apologize. This petition is directed at the chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party and is intended to convince him to compel Rep. Andy Gipson to retract his inflammatory and violent remark. – Perhaps the state leader of his party will be able to make Rep. Gipson see just how inflammatory his comments were, and make him change his mind.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef,

A member of your state party has recently posted a highly offensive remark on Facebook. This post promotes a bible verse, declaring the proper punishment for homosexuality to be death (Leviticus 20:13).

While every American is entitled to their own views, religious or otherwise, they are not entitled to promote violence towards a minority group. It is vitally important that a public official, particularly an elected official, not advocate violence, regardless of the context. In the United States, there are numerous unbalanced individuals who have been known to take violent action based upon the statements of public figures (Ex. recent police shootings caused by paranoia that guns will be taken away), and it is important that public figures take steps to remove even the suggestion that violence is appropriate.

Gipson is a member of the Mississippi Republican Party, thus you, as the party chairman, may be able to convince him to recant his statement. Our demand that Gipson recant his comment is not to imply that Gipson cannot claim his belief that homosexuality is a sin or even that he believes public policy should not accommodate gay rights, but simply the renunciation of promoting violence as a punishment for homosexuality.

Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]