Pastor told to move out of building for controversial anti-gay remarks following Orlando massacre
The management company of a building has asked a pastor and his church to move out of the building after the pastor released what were considered as hateful remarks in the wake of the Orlando shooting tragedy.
Pastor Roger Jimenez, who heads Verity Baptist Church, was heard telling his congregation it was tragic that more people at the Pulse gay nightclub didn't die from the shooting.
"Are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?" Jimenez asked the congregation during his sermon. "I think Orlando, Florida, is a little safer tonight. The tragedy is that more of them didn't die. The tragedy is I'm kind of upset he didn't finish the job – because these people are predators. They are abusers."
He added that he wished the government would line up homosexuals against a wall and execute them by firing squad.
His sermon, which had been recorded and posted on Youtube a day after the Orlando shooting, was eventually removed for violating Youtube's policy on hate speech, according to Los Angeles Times.
Upon learning about this, Harsch Investment Properties, owner of the building where the church members meet, informed the church that its lease will no longer be renewed because it will not tolerate tenants who stir up hatred. The church's lease is due to end on March 31 next year.
"We have many places of worship and other religious organizations in the properties we manage. Like all our tenants, their occupancy rights are protected in their leases, but we will not tolerate tenants who advocate hatred and the taking of innocent lives," the company said in a statement.
Company officials said they cannot legally order the church to leave before its lease ends, so they told the church to just move out.
Jimenez's anti-LGBT comments have been condemned by gay rights activists and leaders of Christian churches.
Human Rights Campaign spokesman Jay Brown said Jimenez's sermon was "nothing whatsoever Christian" and added that Jimenez was using the pulpit to preach hate.
"His words offer no comfort to the survivors of the attack, to the family and friends whose loved ones they'll never see again," Brown said, according to The Washington Post.
