Hemant Mehta reports at The Friendly Atheist:
Israel Folau is eager to sue Rugby Australia for terminating his contract after he said gay people would burn in hell, and despite being fairly wealthy himself, he launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $3 million. The company soon shut the page down saying they don’t allow fundraisers that “tolerate the promotion of discrimination.”
But leave it to conservative Christians to come to his defense. The Australian Christian Lobby, the equivalent of a Christian Right group in the United States, has launched its own fundraiser for Folau.
The Australian Christian Lobby was once led by Lyle Shelton, who said he feared marriage equality because people might think he’s gay and once compared an LGBTQ inclusion program in schools to the Holocaust.
At this writing the Christian crowdfunding page has raised over $1.5 AUD. According to the ACL, $100,000 of that is their own money. Folau owns five luxury homes and drives a Lamborghini.
So, been chatting with @IzzyFolau and we fixed it… https://t.co/FZ1UkcZa4n #standwithizzy
— Martyn Iles (@MartynLloydIles) June 24, 2019
This is a peaceful uprising of quiet Australians. A voice that cannot be ignored. One man’s conviction is what it took – thank you @IzzyFolau pic.twitter.com/Zyf80niN1z
— Martyn Iles (@MartynLloydIles) June 25, 2019
The Australian Christian Lobby says Israel Folau’s fundraising campaign is about “creating a grassroots support network, raising the profile of the case and giving people a voice to buy into the whole thing”. pic.twitter.com/WSNxNjbkPL
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) June 23, 2019
Unless you line up with the ?️? view of world, you will be punished. This is not a flag of freedom folks. And yet during the marriage campaign their mantra was “no consequences”. The Coalition for Marriage tried to warn the nation. Now we are in a confused, gender fluid mess. https://t.co/L4PgFVV7bE
— Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) June 24, 2019
Adults do not have the right to deliberately deny children their mother or father. Surrogacy & sperm donation are unethical. What a tangled web we are weaving and it is the children and women who will ultimately suffer. https://t.co/UzEwd64SaV
— Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) June 19, 2019