Pastor Robert Jeffress on Monday
criticized businesses that support LGBT rights, saying that they pose
a greater “threat to freedom of religion in America” than ISIS.
Companies such as Starbucks, Google and
Apple strongly supported marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples
before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state marriage bans last
year. More recently, Salesforce and Target are among the more than
200 companies calling on lawmakers in North Carolina to repeal a bill
that, among other things, prohibits transgender people from using the
bathroom of their choice in government buildings, including schools.
Appearing on the Family Research
Council's (FRC) Washington Watch, Jeffress, the pastor at
First Baptist Church in Dallas, praised Texas leaders for refusing to
comply with federal guidelines on transgender students.
(Related: Texas
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says state will ignore Obama administration's
transgender directive.)
“I think they're going to stand firm
on this. And I hope that every governor in every state will have the
guts to do that,” Jeffress told guest host Todd Starnes. “I
think it's time for an all-out rebellion against this absolute
tyranny of the Obama administration.”
“[W]e believe that gender is
something that is assigned by God,” he said, adding that
recognizing transgender rights means that “we are headed toward
chaos.”
Jeffress criticized businesses that
support LGBT rights, suggesting that they are buying the votes of
politicians.
“It comes down to money, Todd, that's
what it's about,” Jeffress
said. “And when states are being faced with the loss of
business, they tend to fold real quickly. And I've said often that
the greatest threat to freedom of religion in America is not ISIS,
it's the Chamber of Commerce. I mean, it's the businesses that say
to our representatives, 'Oh, don't pass laws like that. Don't pass
these religious freedom laws because people will interpret that as
anti-gay and we'll lose business.'”