Michelle Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting fame, along with hubby Jim Bob Duggar, have caused a bit of controversy in the LGBT community in recent days. The strict Christian couple issued a ‘kissing challenge’ on Facebook, but when gay couples submitted their photos, the Duggar family allegedly took them down.
It all started following the recent wedding of daughter Jessa Duggar to Ben Seewald. Apparently there was criticism about what some deemed ‘inappropriate PDA’ with regard to one of the photos. This inspired Michelle Duggar to stick up for her daughter and new son-in-law and issue a ‘fun challenge’ for married kissing couples.
A photo of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar that appeared first on Jessa Diggar’s Instagram was posted to the family’s Facebook page with the invitation for others to post their own kissing photos. Per their Christian beliefs, however, the challenge was issued with some strict guidelines.
When John Becker, an LGBT blogger, posted a photo to the Duggar’s page, it was taken down.
A war of words ensued, with Michelle Duggar and her husband using quotes from the Bible as their ammunition.
John Becker countered on his site, writing the following.
“First of all, homosexuality isn’t a chosen “lifestyle,” it’s an intrinsic orientation, as anyone with a fifth-grade public school education can tell you. Being transgender isn’t a “lifestyle,” it’s an innate identity.
Second, folks like the Duggars don’t just “disagree” with LGBT people (whatever that means), they work very, very hard to undermine and obstruct their basic civil and human rights. Whether it’s recording a lie-filled, disgustingly transphobic robocall against a nondiscrimination ordinance in Fayetteville, Arkansas or speaking at hate group rallies in support of marriage discrimination, the Duggar family has a long and ugly history of religion-based bigotry.
The Duggars would deprive me and my family–and thousands of other people and families like us–of the right to marry, raise children, hold a job, and transact business in the public marketplace without fear of discrimination. That goes way beyond mere “disagreement,” and is about as unloving, uncompassionate, and un-Christian as a person can get.
And as I told the Huffington Post, that’s exactly why I posted my photo to their page in the first place:
“[Michael and I] felt that our participation as a same-sex couple would highlight the dissonance between their professed support of love, intimacy, and marriage and the fact that they work so hard to obstruct the happiness and legal marriage rights of loving couples like us.”
The Duggars clearly intend to hold on to their malicious, hurtful anti-LGBT beliefs. Of course, they have every right to do so, just like they have every right to moderate their Facebook page as they see fit.
But what I hope they learn from the dozens of beautiful married same-sex couples who responded to their challenge–and the controversy that erupted when they tried to erase us–is that the world is evolving into a place that recognizes and affirms all loving couples, both same-sex and opposite-sex. Such a shame that the Duggars refuse to evolve along with it.”
What’s your take on Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar taking down photos of same sex couples from their Facebook kissing challenge? Do you think the removal of said photos incites hate?
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar continue to keep the faith — quoting scripture amid their kissing controversy: http://t.co/WN68rceA3M
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) November 13, 2014
