The Speaker of New York’s City Council wants Franklin Graham’s Christian charity to get the heck out of Dodge.
As observed by RedState’s Jeff Charles on April 21st, Reverend Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse organization was “currently working to aid residents in New York City, which has suffered the brunt of the outbreak in America. They have set up a 14-tent emergency field hospital in Central Park. The facility has a full staff of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.”
If you are a Christian doctor, nurse, paramedic, or other medical professional interested in serving COVID-19 patients in our @SamaritansPurse Emergency Field Hospital in NYC, please visit https://t.co/EEw1jNtrrk. pic.twitter.com/5i7EeKxLDi
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) March 29, 2020
Sound okay? Not to NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson. On Saturday, he had a lot to say about the group — and about Franklin:
“My statement on Samaritan’s Purse: It is time for Samaritan’s Purse to leave NYC. This group, led by the notoriously bigoted, hate-spewing Franklin Graham, came at a time when our city couldn’t in good conscience turn away any offer of help. That time has passed.”
My statement on Samaritan's Purse:
It is time for Samaritan's Purse to leave NYC. This group, led by the notoriously bigoted, hate-spewing Franklin Graham, came at a time when our city couldn't in good conscience turn away any offer of help. That time has passed. 1/
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) May 1, 2020
So he’s done with ’em — Thanks, now don’t let the door hit ya where your Good Lord split ya.
The Daily Wire reports there was some controversy when the group took to the field. Some were afraid an organization which doesn’t support abortion or same-sex marriage would refuse to treat gay patients.
Even the mayor was apparently unnerved.
Here’s a March 31st bit from New York blog Gothamist:
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will keep a close eye on the Christian fundamentalist group operating a field hospital in Central Park, amid growing fears that some New Yorkers could face discrimination and substandard care from the religious organization.
The 60-bed respiratory care unit will handle overflow patients from Mount Sinai, as the hospital grapples with a surge in novel coronavirus cases. Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical nonprofit led by the virulently anti-LGBTQ and Islamaphobic preacher Franklin Graham, will handle operations.
A close ally to President Trump, Graham frequently attacks the “homosexual agenda” and “transgender lie,” and has described Islam as “wicked and evil.”
Per Gothamist, Samaritan’s Purse “signed a written pledge (to Mount Sinai Hospital) to treat all patients equally.”
Still, Bill was gonna keep an eye on those weirdos:
“We’re going to send people over from the Mayor’s Office to monitor. I am very concerned that this is done right. But if it is done right, we need all the help we can get.”
Speaker Corey’s ready to see ’em hightail it:
“Their continued presence here is an affront to our values of inclusion, and is painful for all New Yorkers who care deeply about the LGBTQ community. Mount Sinai must sever its relationship with Samaritan’s Purse. Its leader calls the LGBTQ community ‘detestable’ and ‘immoral.’ He says being gay is ‘an affront to God,’ and refers to gay Christians as ‘the enemy.’ Samaritan’s Purse requires its volunteers to agree to a written affirmation ‘that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.’ Hate has no place in our beautiful city.”
Their continued presence here is an affront to our values of inclusion, and is painful for all New Yorkers who care deeply about the LGBTQ community. 2/
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) May 1, 2020
Mount Sinai must sever its relationship with Samaritan’s Purse. Its leader calls the LGBTQ community "detestable" and "immoral." He says being gay is "an affront to God," and refers to gay Christians as "the enemy." 5/
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) May 1, 2020
Samaritan's Purse requires its volunteers to agree to a written affirmation “that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.”
Hate has no place in our beautiful city. 6/6
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) May 1, 2020
Some on Twitter dunked Corey for being anti-inclusive:
You seem to be having issues with inclusion. Those Christians are caring for anyone who needs it and sharing the love of Christ with them. You are wanting to throw them out for loving people? Explain that? You, sir are the intolerant one. Sad
— Vanessa Bryant (@Vanessa31560) May 3, 2020
Reported as religious discrimination
— @Flkittie 2 (@KittieGianelli) May 3, 2020
They’ve put their lives at risk to serve everyone, including LGBTQ patients. Your statement, “Their continued presence here is an affront to our values of inclusion”, is a steaming mess of irony, hypocrisy, and ingratitude.
— Dale Poynter 🇺🇸 (@DalePoynter) May 3, 2020
There is no better way to show how inclusive you are than by kicking a Christian organization out while they are saving peoples lives.
— Bill Lehman (@LehmanWmlehman) May 3, 2020
You really should be more inclusive of others who don’t share your views. How intolerant.
— Austere Purveyor Of Logic (@commanderdata85) May 3, 2020
"Our values of inclusion" tell us they are not welcome here.
🤔
Talk about lack of self-awareness.— Allyson Jacob (@AJacob2016) May 3, 2020
It seems to me if people are afraid of Christian medical assistance, there’s a whole lot to fear.
From the Catholic News Service:
Last week Thompson Reuters released its annual list of the 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. The health care information organization has a tough list of benchmarks that hospitals must meet in order to be considered for ranking. The rankings are divided into five categories: major teaching hospitals, teaching hospitals, and large, medium and small community hospitals.
In the No. 1 spot is St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, a hospital of Catholic Healthcare West. Catholic health care centers ranked in 28 additional spots across all the categories. Nine of the hospitals were given the Top 100 Hospitals Everest Award for benchmark performance with the highest rates of improvement.
That was 2009. In 2016, Fierce Healthcare ran an article titled “Number of Catholic Hospitals in US Has Grown 22% Since 2001.”
As for Corey: He’s gonna really freak out if someone ever tells him the origin of “Mount Sinai.”
-ALEX
See 3 more pieces from me:
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