In the Spotlight|December 20, 2013 03:03 EST
Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Gets Support from 2016 Republican Presidential Hopefuls After A&E Suspension
2016 Presidential candidates are showing support to Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson after his A&E suspension for his remarks about homosexuality being a sin in an upcoming interview for GQ magazine.
"The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with," Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal said in a declaration shown on his official Web site, adding: "I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment."
In the GQ Magazine interview, Robertson paraphrases the Bible by stating, "Don't be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers-they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."
"If you believe in free speech or religious liberty, you should be deeply dismayed over the treatment of Phil Robertson," wrote Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz via Facebook. He is also a potential Presidential candidate in 2016.
In addition, Robertson, the reality show tycoon, is gathering more controversy in the same GQ interview stating African Americans were happier in the era of Jim Crow laws in the segregated South.
"I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once," the reality star said of growing up in pre-Civil-Rights-era Louisiana. "Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash. We're going across the field ... They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, 'I tell you what: These doggone white people' - not a word!"
Phil Robertson then said, "Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues."
However, NAACP spokesperson along with the Human Rights Campaign, sent to a letter to A&E to "denounce and repudiate Robertson's comments," they demanded that Robertson "apologizes for his vitriolic comments."
The Robertson Family's issued a statement that "Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Phil would never incite or encourage hate."