“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin invoked Jesus Christ into her reaction to a shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado.
During an episode of the show on Monday, Hostin told her co-hosts, “I don’t know that they hide behind religion because I said this on this show once before, Jesus would be the grand marshal at the pride parade. I really mean that.”
Sara Haines replied, “I don’t mean about gay people, I mean in every argument we have, we weaponize religion.”
Whoopi Goldberg chimed in, saying if others are afraid of gay people, “Leave them alone.”
She added, “When stuff scares me, I leave it alone.”
Goldberg argued everyone is “made in God’s image.”
She continued, “Keep that in mind when you’re trying to figure out where you stand as a human being, let alone a Christian.”
Watch their comments below:
The comments come just days after a gunman opened fire at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, killing five and injuring 25 others.
The suspect has been identified as Anderson Aldrich, as CNN reported.
Aldrich is reportedly facing five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a bias-motivated Crime causing bodily injury.
Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of LGBTQ rights organization GLAAD, reacted to the shooting on Twitter.
“You can draw a straight line from the false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people spread by extremists and amplified across social media, to the nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year, to the dozens of attacks on our community just like this one,” Ellis tweeted.
President Joe Biden also issued a statement on Sunday urging state leaders to “combat the disturbing wave of discriminatory state laws targeting young transgender Americans — legislation that hurts young people who aren’t hurting anyone.”
He added, “This is a matter of safety and basic dignity. As we mourn the lives we’ve lost, let us resolve to continue building a country where every American can live free from fear and discrimination.”