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LGBT Enemy Jerry Falwell, of the So-Called "Moral Majority," Dies on May 15 at 73

by Bruce-Michael Gelbert


Jerry Falwell (center) with members of LGBT organization SoulForce. Photo courtesy of SoulForce/Equality Ride

He charged that the tragic destruction of the World Trade Center, damage to the Pentagon, and fatal plane crash in a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001 represented God's judgment on a nation tolerant of abortion and gay rights, but later recanted. He supported Anita Bryant in her so-called "Save the Children" campaign, which successfully repealed LGBT rights in Dade County, Florida, in 1977, and California State Senator John Briggs in his anti-gay teacher initiative, which was fortunately defeated, in 1978. He outed Tinky Winky, the lavender Teletubby! He was Jerry Falwell, notorious founder of the self-styled "Moral Majority" (once inspiration for a popular bumper sticker, which read, "The Moral Majority is Neither"), and he died on May 15 at the age of 73.

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In a statement issued by its Executive Director, Matt Foreman, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force offered condolences to Rev. Falwell's survivors, but added, "Unfortunately we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation's appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation."

I participated in a rousing and raucous demonstration against Falwell inside New York City's Town Hall in the mid-1980s. Critics of the move to drown out his attempt to speak from the stage said that, by 'censoring' his free speech, we forfeited the moral highroad and were as guilty as he. On the contrary, we were merely letting Falwell know that he was not welcome to deliver his already well-disseminated message of hatred here.