JerryFalwellArticle

WASHINGTON, Thursday, Sept. 13 -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell said gays, feminists, ?pagans,? and a host of liberal advocacy groups have made ?God mad? and must share the blame for the terrorist attacks this week that took the lives of thousands of Americans at the World Trade Center in New York and at the Pentagon outside Washington.

Falwell made his remarks Thursday, Sept. 13, while appearing on the religious television program The 700 Club, hosted by the Rev. Pat Robertson. Falwell and Robertson are among the nation?s strongest opponents of gay civil rights.

?I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way ? all of them who have tried to secularize American ? I point the finger in their face and say, ?You helped this happen,?? Falwell said on the program, which was broadcast nationally.

?Well, I totally concur,? Robertson told Falwell, ?and the problem is we have adopted their agenda at the highest levels of our government.?

The comments by Falwell and Robertson came at a time when gay activists have joined leading Republicans and Democrats in calling for national unity and full, bipartisan support for President Bush?s planned response to the terrorist attacks.

?The terrible tragedy that has befallen our nation, and indeed the entire global community, is the sad byproduct of fanaticism,? said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

?It has its roots in the same fanaticism that enables people like Jerry Falwell to preach hate against those who do not think, live, or love in the exact same way he does,? Jean said.

?The tragedies that have occurred this week did not occur because someone made God mad, as Mr. Falwell asserts,? Jean continued, in a statement released Sept. 13. ?They occurred because of hate, pure and simple.?

In separate statements released this week, the national gay groups Log Cabin Republicans and National Stonewall Democrats condemned the terrorist attacks and declared their support for President Bush?s efforts to respond to the incidents.

?Gay and Lesbian Americans across the nation are united today,? said Log Cabin executive director Rich Tafel. ?In the face of defending our nation together, all differences fall away, and all other issues pale in comparison.?

?This week?s tragedy truly asks all of us to come together as a people to bury our dead, to comfort and heal all families and to rebuild this strong nation,? the National Stonewall Democrats said in a statement. ?Stonewall Democrats join in solidarity with all Americans in placing our loyal support behind our national government and our president.?

The group added, ?Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans also have paid with their lives and their honor, and we join in saluting their sacrifices and those of every American who suffered these terrible, senseless events.?

"Now is the time to join together behind our president and our government in defense of our nation," said Tafel of the Log Cabin group.