Pro-Trump US preacher dropped by tour venues after outcry over homophobic comments

Seven venues have dropped Franklin Graham's UK tour this summer after an outcry over his views on homosexuality and Islam

TURLOCK, CA - MAY 29: Rev. Franklin Graham speaks during Franklin Graham's "Decision America" California tour at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds on May 29, 2018 in Turlock, California. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))

US evangelical preacher Franklin Graham, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, has been dropped by every venue booked for his planned UK tour.

The seven venues cancelled following public outcry about Mr Graham’s views on Islam and homosexuality.

Mr Graham, the son of preacher Billy Graham, had planned to tour the UK from late May until mid-June, with a further event scheduled in London in October.

In a statement, Mr Graham said that opposition in the UK came from “a small but vocal minority.”

The tour website now states: “We are still finalising where the Graham Tour will be held, but we want to be clear that the initiative and all associated training courses will take place on the same dates as originally planned.”

Liverpool’s mayor, Joe Anderson, tweeted that the city is proud of its LGBT+ community and would not allow hatred and intolerance to go unchallenged.

The final venue to cancel was in Newcastle. The group Northern Pride thanked the numerous groups throughout the city for their support.

In a letter to the LGBT+ community posted to his Facebook page, Mr Franklin insists that he is not planning on bringing on bringing “hateful speech” to the UK. He attempts to clarify his position on homosexuality as a sin, before inviting the community to come and hear the gospel.

Mr Graham has previously described advances in LGBT+ rights such as same-sex marriage as “a full-scale assault against Christianity and the followers of Christ … The architect behind this offensive is none other than Satan himself.”

He has also claimed that President Obama was “born a Muslim” and that Islam is “evil” and “wicked”.

More recently, in reference to Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg, he tweeted that the Bible “defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicised.”

Recent polling data finds that attitudes towards LGBT+ rights in the US have become more positive in recent years, including among Evangelicals.

Late last year Mr Graham jumped to Mr Trump's support when Christianity Today, the evangelical magazine started by his father, published a stinging editorial criticising the president's “grossly immoral character”.