Equality Federation

Extremist Jerry Falwell Jr. Appointed to Task Force on Higher Education

February 1, 2017

Equality Federation condemns President Trump’s decision to name one of the nation’s most prominent anti-LGBTQ leaders, Jerry Falwell Jr., to the Task Force on Higher Education.

“Jerry Falwell Jr. espouses an extreme anti-LGBTQ and anti-science worldview. He poses a real threat to our community, especially young people who should have a fair opportunity to learn free from discrimination and prejudice,” said Mark Daniel Snyder, Director of Communications. “It is deeply troubling that Mr. Trump has surrounded himself with the ‘who’s who’ of homophobic, racist, and xenophobic leaders. We will resist any attempt to poison our educational system with anti-LGBTQ and anti-science extremism.”

Falwell Jr. is the son of Jerry Falwell Sr., the founder of Liberty University, who is widely viewed as the instigator of the “anti-gay industry.” Falwell Sr. blamed 9/11 on LGBT people, and once said, “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”

Falwell Jr. is currently the president of Liberty University. The school prohibits “homosexual behavior” and has hosted several anti-LGBTQ events, including those that promote the dangerous, unscientific practices of “conversion therapy.”

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