Anderson Cooper: ‘Hypocritical’ to Oppose Both Gay Marriage AND Orlando Massacre

Debate moderator Anderson Cooper looks during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Deba
Scott Olson/Getty

CNN journalist and gay activist Anderson Cooper said that a person like Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is a “hypocrite” for opposing gay marriage while simultaneously denouncing the slaughter of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

According to Cooper’s logic, anyone against gay marriage should also support the murder of homosexuals, while anyone who condemns the Orlando massacre should also believe that same-sex marriage is a good idea for the country.

On Tuesday, Cooper went after Bondi on CNN, telling her that many in the LGBT community think she’s “a hypocrite.”

After a 25-year-old shooter killed 49 people and injured 53 others in Orlando Sunday, Bondi responded by saying that people who attacked the LGBT community would be punished.

“We are making it clear that anyone who attacks our LGBT community, anyone who attacks anyone will be gone after to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi said Sunday.

Cooper was having none of it, telling her that for years “you’ve basically gone after gay people,” referring to Bondi’s opposition to same-sex marriage.

Bondi insisted: “You know what today is about? Human beings. It’s about victims,” to which Cooper countered: “It’s about gay and lesbian victims.” In point of fact, however, not all the shooting victims were gay—but apparently in Cooper’s mind, they were the only ones that mattered.

Cooper told Bondi that he had read her Twitter history for the past year and saw her tweeting about many things, but saw no reference to pro-gay or transgender themes. “You never even tweeted about gay pride month,” he accused.

“Do you really think you’re a champion of the gay community?” Cooper asked.

After all—one might ask—how could Bondi’s sorrow over the massacre be real if she didn’t even tweet about gay pride month? A cynic might wonder whether Cooper was exploiting a terrible tragedy to command conformity with the gay agenda.

Christian-owned Chick-Fil-A caused similar consternation by staying open on Sunday to hand out free food and drink to all the citizens who were donating blood for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. None of the major networks commented on the gesture.

Chick-Fil-A suffered a nationwide boycott as well as a spate of vandalism for its public opposition to same-sex marriage, but was the first to step up on behalf of the victims of the Orlando shooting and their families.

An irony that is surely lost on Anderson Cooper.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter  

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.