The night before he signed a so-called
religious freedom executive order, President Donald Trump dined with
several Religious Right leaders.
Trump's order, signed during a White
House Rose Garden ceremony on Thursday, allows religious
organizations to endorse political candidates and weakens health
insurance requirements for contraception.
LGBT rights activists had braced for an
order that protects opponents of LGBT rights.
(Related: Trump's
“religious freedom” order does not attack LGBT rights as
expected.)
Among
those who attended the dinner were Robert Jeffress, Franklin
Graham, James Dobson, Jim Garlow, Ralph Reed, Eric Metaxas and
Richard Land, all of whom are vocally opposed to LGBT rights.
Jeffress and Graham, the son of
televangelist Billy Graham, appear to be closest to Trump, and are
outspoken in their contempt for the LGBT community and its advances.
Jeffress has called
homosexuality a “sin” and compared
gay sex to plugging a U.S. TV into a European outlet, while
Graham has called marriage
equality “the great sin”and has routinely called on followers
to boycott LGBT-friendly companies.
(Related: Franklin
Graham prepared to have his head “chopped off” for opposing gay
rights.)