Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson makes anti-LGBTQ comments during sermon at Mooresville church

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson delivered a sermon to members of a Mooresville church this past weekend, but part of his sermon consisted of comments against the LGBTQ community, including blasting churches that welcome LGBTQ members.

The Republican lieutenant governor visited Trinity Baptist Church Sunday in Mooresville, where he gave a speech that lasted a little over 40 minutes.

Near the end of his sermon, Robinson criticized the Pride flag and pastors who accept LGBTQ members.

“You see so many pastors right now will say in their pulpits I don’t want this church to be political, I don’t want to talk about politics that have anything to do with religion. We used to be religious in this church and we’re going to love, we’re going to accept everybody, and we’re going to accept anything. I’m going to fly a rainbow flag out front and spit right in the face of God,” Robinson said, referencing other pastors.

“Yes, I said it. Makes me sick every time I see it, when I pass a church that flies that rainbow flag, which is a direct spit in the face to God Almighty,” Robinson continued in his speech to the congregation.

Robinson, who hinted at a run for governor earlier this month, added: “And if this nation does not stop, this nation is going to be in trouble. There is no pride in sin.”

Channel 9′s Joe Bruno reached out to Robinson’s office for comment on the remarks, but they didn’t respond.

This isn’t the first time Robinson has made headlines for his views on the LGBTQ community. The Associated Press reported in 2021 when the Human Rights Campaign, Democratic lawmakers, and the White House decried comments that he had made to another church congregation.

“There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth,” Robinson told the Asbury Baptist Church congregation in Seagrove in June of 2021.

After calls for his resignation for those comments, Robinson issued a video statement saying, in part: “Let me be clear, I will fight for and protect the rights of all citizens, including those in the LGBTQ community to express themselves however they want. ... However, the idea that our children should be taught about concepts of transgenderism and be exposed to sexually explicit material in the classroom is abhorrent.”

Robinson hasn’t officially announced a run for governor. He has been serving as North Carolina’s lieutenant governor since 2021.

(WATCH: Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teen’s death)

Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teen’s death

©2023 Cox Media Group