At a Charlotte city council meeting
last month, Phillip “Flip” Benham lashed out at the mayor and
city council for approving an LGBT protections ordinance earlier this
year.
Republican lawmakers in Raleigh and
Governor Pat McCrory responded to passage of the ordinance by pushing
through legislation that prohibits such measures and restricts
bathroom use for transgender people.
Passage of House Bill 2 was widely
criticized by corporate leaders and ultimately led to the NBA's
decision not to hold next year's All-Star Game in Charlotte.
Supporters of the bill, including
McCrory, have blamed Charlotte for the economic loss facing North
Carolina.
Benham, the national leader of the
North Carolina-based Operation Save America, an anti-abortion group,
spoke during the “citizens forum” portion of the meeting,
accusing the city council of putting its “middle finger right in
the eye of almighty God.”
“There is one God and we're going to
stand for him in this city,” Benham
said. “You cannot make a moral wrong a civil right. You have
no right to do that! It's a moral wrong.”
"If God doesn't fix this city. If
God isn't the answer. If God isn't at the foundation, you're going
to have bloodshed coursing down the corners of our streets, our
schools and our workplaces and you're not going to have a police
force big enough to stop it," he continued. "When you sow
bloodshed in the womb – and we have three abortion mills here in
this city – you're going to reap it in the streets. And our God is
a God of truth and these things happen. When you cast God behind your
back, violence always comes in to replace the void.”
“Now we've got this transgenderism
nonsense!” Benham shouted, slamming his hand on the podium. “It's
not a sin to be black! But it is a sin to be a practicing homosexual!
It is a sin. It is not a moral right! It is wrong and you need to say
so. And you've opened up the doors of hell on our city, you and this
council and you need to repent!”