Pushback to death-penalty-for-gays defender, pastor Philip Kayser, now holding court Sundays at University of Nebraska Thompson Alumni Center

Rabidly homophobic Dominion Covenant Chuch pastor Philip Kayser got some feedback today from his prey and their friends as he held forth at a Sunday venue hosted by the University of Nebraska-Omaha's Thompson Alumni Center.

Below, Progressive Oasis blogger Ken Riter, who organized the protest, explained to longtime community activist Dr. Frances Mendenhall why he put together a demonstration.



Warren Throckmorton says Kayser appears to be a Christian reconstructionist (see this post about their views) who believes that the penalties associated with Mosaic law should be implemented today.

Kayser has defended the death penalty for gay people:

Genesis 19 shows that the angels knew homosexuality (at least as it was flagrantly flaunted in Sodom) was worthy of death,” Kayser wrote in an article called “Is the Death Penalty Just?” He later claimed implementing such laws would dissuade other gay people from coming out of the closet and perverting society: “Only those who were prosecuted by citizens could be punished, and the punishment could take a number of forms, including death. This would have a tendency of driving homosexuals back into their closets.

Kayser recently endorsed Ron Paul, whose campaign called him "an eminent pastor" — and then quickly scrubbed his endorsement from Paul’s website. Below, Ed Schultz chronicles the sorry episode and calls Philip Kayser's homophobic theology "jaw dropping."



In his post, Riter lists the following contact information for people who wish to complain about the use of UNO's security detail to surveil peaceful protesters from property Chancellor Christensen claims is not part of UNO's campus, despite signage which displays UNO's proprietary logo above the name of the alumni center.

The UNO Thompson Center: Phone 402-554-3368, send email to events@unoalumni.org

The UNO Main Student info: Phone 402-554-2800

My personal favorite! The UNO Chancellor: John Christensen 402-554-2262 johnchristensen@unomaha.edu

Riter's interviewer, Dr. Mendenhall, came out to lend her support (about half the protesters weren't gay) when she heard about UNO's accommodation of this vicious heterosexual supremacist. (AKSARBENT really, really wanted to ask Frances about the rumor it is starting that just before his death, Walt Disney threw up on her cap, but that would have been rude, so we'll just post it on the Internet.)

Here's what Ralph Nader said in his book "Crashing The Party" about Frances' successful campaign to put him on the presidential ballot in the Cornhusker State.

One of my favorite examples was Dr. Frances Mendenhall, a Nebraska dentist, who periodically closed her office and drove far and wide across the state collecting a large share of the two thousand signatures from each of three congressional districts. On August 1, she, Tom Rinne, and their fellow Greens rallied on the steps of the state capitol with 10,700 signatures.

     Nebraska is a big state. When Dr. Mendenhall learned that I visited Chadron in western Nebraska, where farmers and ranchers were having a tough time economically, she drove hundreds of miles there to pick up more names.

RELATED: The small band of protesters apparently rattled who we assume were a pastor and pastor's wife of the First Christian Church, in front of whose parking lot the demonstrators were standing, with signs facing the Thompson Alumni Center across the street. Mr. & Mrs. Pastor were worried that motorists would think their church was being cast as as a collection of haters and politely reminded the demonstrators that they were on church property. (The protesters were on the sidewalk, although some extra signs were on the private side of the walk.) After some discussion the demonstrators moved further west to eliminate any confusion.

While First Christian Church certainly doesn't attack gay people, neither, apparently, is it exactly a beacon of social justice, lending no support whatsoever to "controversial" issues like employment protection, public accommodations protection, adoptions or civil marriage rights. From the church's website:

Where do you stand on controversial issues like abortion and homosexuality?

Because of our emphasis on the freedom of individual belief, we do not take stands on such issues. We offer a forum where concerned Christians can struggle together to discern answers to complex moral questions.

The pastor and his wife, after expressing their concern to the demonstrators, hospitably invited them inside to their church's services. Everyone passed. Regrettably, no happy atheist at AKSARBENT had the presence of mind to reciprocally invite the pastor and his wife to services at our church.