Rating: Transsupportive, Advocate, October 31, 2023 (PDF archive) (HTML archive) (Take Action)
Action Recommendations
- Suggest/Improve an Action on the GenderMenace.net Action Portal!
Content Summary
Speaker Mike Johnson’s Wife Removes Website Equating Homosexuality to Bestiality and Incest
IMAGES: FACEBOOK @SPEAKERJOHNSON; SHUTTERSTOCK
Following scrutiny, Kelly Johnson, wife of newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, has taken down her Christian counseling website that contained documents comparing homosexuality to bestiality and incest.
OCTOBER 31 2023 1:00 PM EST
Kelly Johnson, the wife of newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, a relatively unknown congressman from Louisiana, took her Christian counseling services website offline.
The site, representing Onward Christian Counseling Services, where Kelly Johnson serves as owner and CEO, came under scrutiny when HuffPost unearthed documents there likening homosexuality to bestiality and incest.
The HuffPost report, released on Friday, drew attention to a 2017 operating agreement on the site, which underscored the company’s adherence to what it called biblical principles concerning sexual morality. The document stated, “We believe, and the Bible teaches that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.”
The clause categorically grouped gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals alongside those engaging in sex with animals or family members under the banner of “sexual immorality.”
By Saturday afternoon, the website was no longer accessible, with its previous content captured by the Wayback Machine, an internet archiving service.
In a further examination of the Johnsons’ public and business endeavors, HuffPost highlighted their longstanding inter-connectedness. They notably advocated for Louisiana’s new marriage covenant law during the early 1990s and, more recently, co-hosted a Truth Be Told podcast to discuss politics and social issues from a conservative Christian standpoint. In addition to his previous staunchly anti-LGBTQ+ views, Mike Johnson’s possible involvement in drafting the controversial bylaws for Onward Christian Counseling Services is raising eyebrows. Though his signature is present on the document as a notary, dated July 1, 2017, the role doesn’t necessitate a thorough review of the content.
However, a compelling similarity was found between the language used in the bylaws and a “model bylaws for churches” document generated by Freedom Guard, a non-profit dedicated to “contending for the Christian faith through strategic litigation.”
The organization was founded by Speaker Johnson, who also served as its president and chief counsel in 2015. That year, he notably provided pro bono legal aid to officials opposed to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court affirmed marriage equality.
Freedom Guard’s website is also down, redirecting visitors to a page about gambling laws.
The news speaker has not been shy about his ultra-conservative Christian beliefs.
In a recent interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Speaker Johnson said, “I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today — in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.’”While whether Speaker Johnson penned the divisive bylaws for his wife’s firm remains unanswered, the issue has cast a spotlight on the couple’s personal and professional affiliations. The office of Speaker Johnson has yet to respond to inquiries regarding his potential role in drafting the bylaws or the reason behind the website’s removal, according to HuffPost.
Leave a Reply