Mike Johnson blamed 'rampant homosexual behavior' for the fall of the Roman Empire

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is a Donald Trump loyalist and a far-right evangelical Christian nationalist who tried to help Trump overturn the 2020 election results. Johnson also has a long history of anti-gay views, including — Vanity Fair's Bess Levin notes in her November 1 column — blaming gays for the fall of the Roman Empire.

During a 2008 interview, according to Levin, Johnson commented, "Some credit…. the fall of Rome to not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also, to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society."

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Levin points out that Johnson was a legal adviser to Exodus International, a far-right Christian fundamentalist group that claimed to "cure" gays of homosexuality. Exodus' claims, according to sex education experts, are totally unscientific — as gays are born gay and don't suddenly choose to be gay.

"In addition," Levin warns, "Johnson reportedly partnered with the organization on a wildly evil event — started by Alliance Defense Fund, the socially conservative legal advocacy group he worked for — called the 'Day of Truth,' which was meant to be a counterprotest to an event designed to bring awareness to the bullying LGBTQ+ are subject to."

Wayne Besen, executive director of the pro-gay group Truth Wins Out, told CNN that Johnson's "core was promoting anti-gay and ex-gay viewpoints."

Levin writes, "Medical professionals have widely condemned conversion therapy, calling the practice pseudo-scientific and abusive."

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Read Bess Levin's full Vanity Fair column at this link.