Homophobic Megachurch Pastor Thinks a Gay President Is 'Too Liberal'

A Georgia megachurch pastor is getting slammed after urging Democrats not to vote Pete Buttigieg as their presidential nominee because he's gay.

Bishop Paul S Morton, founder of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana (and father of Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton) posted to Twitter on Saturday morning alleging that 'Being too liberal will not win."

"Dems I pray U will use wisdom in voting. Being too liberal will not win. I am not Homophobic. But it is definitely not the time 4 POTUS 2b a man with his husband up there by his side," he wrote. "There are those of us who love everybody But we believe in the Biblical Definition of Marriage".

It didn't take long for LGBTQ+ Twitter to do what we do best -- check homophobes.

"And I believe in churches being taxed since you have so much to say. Run me that 501(c)3 and keep that same energy," Hassan Sayyed tweeted in response.

Another user added: "@PeteButtigieg and @Chas10Buttigieg are incredible human beings that set an example of a life of love and acceptance. To dismiss Pete's candidacy because of your interpretation of a book written by ppl who lived thousands of years ago is incredibly closed-minded."

Many other users noted the hypocrisy in Morton's statement. One user noted that the modern day family isn't the same definition suggested in the Bible.

"So one man, his slaves, concubines, his wives (plural) and his dead brother's wife? Sir the modern nuclear family is not the definition of marriage (or even the norm) in the Bible. Try again," the tweet reads.

The replies prompted Morton to lean into his stance.

"If I am homophobic God is too," he wrote. "All I know is I'm following Him and His Word. I know He loves The World and I do too. But I will not go against God's Word to please you or no one else."

Buttigieg has faced a slew of homophobic attacks since making his bid for presidency. Last month a local Tennessee official called it "as ugly as you can get" that "We got a queer running for president." Buttigieg has faced similar incidents on the campaign trail, including being targeted by anti-gay hecklers in Dallas. The presidential candidate has responded to homophobic attacks by saying he chooses to "approach with compassion."

"It doesn't speak for most people," he said. "I think the most important thing is to approach with compassion."

A recent poll of registered voters showed that 45 percent of respondents said that America is either probably not or definitey not ready for a "president who is gay or lesbian. While 40 percent said that the country is definitely or probably ready, the remaining 15 said they didn't know or had no opinion.

When asked whether they were personally ready for a gay or lesbian president, 50 percent of the same respondents said they were either definitely or probably ready while only 37 percent said that they were not.

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