by Julie Bindel, The Critic
Image: Wikimedia Creative Commons
Critics underestimate this popular Christian campaigner at their peril
Katy Faust is an American Christian evangelist who campaigns to repeal equal marriage across the United States. I met her at a conference in London last month and as we gave each other a hug and exchanged greetings like old friends, we received side-eye from lesbians, feminists and gay men on the one hand, and religious conservatives on the other.
Many would describe Faust as a homophobe. As someone outed as a lesbian by bullies at school at 15, who went on to experience some quite difficult moments until leaving home for the bright lights of the gay bars, my homophobia antennae are normally very sensitive. But even after spending time with Faust, I couldn’t detect any animosity towards me or other lesbians and gays — who were in plentiful supply at this event. So why would she deny same-sex couples the “right” to marry? Why would she far rather they didn’t raise children?
I’ve spent my entire adult life as a campaigner for the rights of lesbians and gay men, and have seen how positive changes have granted us all more freedom and rights. I am a secularist. She is a self-described “Bible-thumping evangelist”. It was in 2013 that she first realised that however she framed her argument, she was accused of bigotry. Faust decided to start a blog entitled Ask the Bigot in an attempt to “debunk” the perception that opponents to gay marriage do so only out of hate, fear or ignorance.