On Nov. 4, Democrat Lois Fornander lost her bid to represent Colorado House District 15 to Republican Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt, a man listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as the head of an LGBT hate group, the Pray in Jesus Name Project.
Fornander didn’t just lose by a few hundred votes. She was defeated by nearly 10,000 votes, a 70 percent to 30 percent lopsided loss to Dr. Chaps.
According to SPLC’s blog Hatewatch, Klingenschmitt is “best-known for his claims of casting demons out of LGBT people.” Court-martialed by the Air Force in 2006 for disobeying an order and kicked out of the Navy for attending a political rally in front of the White House in March 2006 dressed in his Navy uniform (a violation of military regulations), Klingenschmitt “has claimed that gay people sexually abuse their own children and they should be discriminated against because they’re not going to heaven and only people who go to heaven are entitled to equal treatment.”
In his 2012 book, “The Demons of Barack H. Obama,” Klingenschmitt claims to have uncovered no fewer than 50 demons ruling President Obama, including the dark spirits of “sexual abuse,” “genocide,” “paganism,” “witchcraft” and “homosexual lust.”
Claiming that God gives some (guess who?) the supernatural ability to see otherwise invisible non-human spirits including the Holy Spirit of God, angels and demons, it seems that El Paso County District 15 may be a closer kin to New Mexico’s Area 51 in more than just numerical transposition.
Outside Magazine once listed Colorado Springs as America’s No. 1 best city, beating out Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland. But if you are entertaining a move to that city and the idea of a legislator with the unique ability to see invisible non-humans hanging around there hasn’t yet dissuaded you, that peculiarity may just pale in comparison with the divine vengeance Klingenschmitt summons for those he considers enemies.
Reflect for a moment on this prayer the former Navy chaplain once invoked, asking God to assist him with some troublesome constituent issues.
“Let us pray. Almighty God, today we pray imprecatory prayers from Psalm 109 against the enemies of religious liberty, including Barry Lynn and Mikey Weinstein, who issued press releases this week attacking me personally. God, do not remain silent, for wicked men surround us and tell lies about us. We bless them, but they curse us. Therefore find them guilty, not me. Let their days be few, and replace them with godly people. Plunder their fields, and seize their assets. Cut off their descendants, and remember their sins, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Plunder their fields? Seize their assets? Cut off their descendants?
Perhaps Klingenschmitt would be better suited for another government job, one more aligned with his supernatural and imprecatory skill set: commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Tax evaders wouldn’t dare try hiding illegal offshore accounts from him. They’d live (or maybe not) to regret it.
Mark McVay of Golden is a Vietnam vet and retired teacher. He is on the 2014 Colorado Voices panel.
