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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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Pastor Dillon Awes said that the "solution" to gay people is presented in the Bible: "They should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head."
In a Sunday sermon titled "Why We Won't Shut Up," Awes of Stedfast Baptist Church said that "every single" gay person in America should be executed by the government.
"What does God say is the answer, is the solution, for the homosexual in 2022, here in the New Testament, here in the Book of Romans?" Awes asked. "That they are worthy of death! These people should be put to death!"
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"Every single homosexual in our country should be charged with the crime, the abomination of homosexuality, that they have," he continued. "They should be convicted in a lawful trial. They should be sentenced with death."
The Stedfast Baptist Church in Hurst, Texas, has been designated as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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On Sunday, Awes suggested that those who disagreed with his sermon were not real Christians because the killings of gay people "is what God says."
"They should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head! That's what God teaches. That's what the Bible says," the pastor said. "You don't like it? You don't like God's word, because that is what God says."
In a statement sent to Newsweek, the church's main pastor Johnathan Shelley said that Awes, who preaches when Shelley is out of town, was referring to Leviticus 20:13, which reads: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
Shelley said that even though homosexuality is no longer illegal in the state of Texas, "The Bible teaches that God's laws have not changed on this issue."
"The Bible also teaches Christians should not kill, murder, or take the law into their own hands," he said. "Therefore it is the civil government's authority to punish criminals. This is not murder but capital punishment."
"The state of Texas still has the death penalty for many crimes, and this is not advocating murder," he added.
In his Sunday sermon, which took place during the first week of Pride month, Awes alleged that all gay people are pedophiles and that all child molesters are gay. He argued that it is for that reason they should all be killed.
"I'm not saying that every single homosexual that's alive right now has committed that act with the child already," Awes said. "Because it could be that they haven't had the opportunity yet, and they will at some point later in their life. This is why we need to put these people to death."
"Maybe not every single homosexual has been with a child yet, but what about tomorrow when they're filled with a little more unrighteousness? What about in a week from now when they're filled with a little more unrighteousness? What about 20 years from now? What are they gonna be like?" he added.
Awes' remarks echo the conspiracies made by right-wing protesters who have rallied against "grooming" in the wake of the controversy surrounding Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. Grooming refers to the manipulative strategies used to coerce minors into being sexually abused.
Conservatives have baselessly accused Disney of grooming children after the company publicly opposed the parental rights bill that bans classroom discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity. Critics of the bill have argued that the legislation hurts LGBT youth.
"The Bible also teaches homosexuals and all those in the LGBT are pedophiles who would molest children if given the chance," Shelley said defending his colleague. "Therefore it is our duty to warn families of a real threat that exists in our society."
Sunday's sermon is not the first time members of the Stedfast Baptist Church have preached anti-LGBT messages.
Last year, Shelley, who has repeatedly called for the death of gay people, celebrated the death of a gay man at a Pride parade. And just last month, he called Pride month an "abomination."
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