More shit
from the past! Scott Esk is an Oklahoma fundie who
supports stoning gay peopleto death. In particular, Esk was a 2014
Oklahoma state House candidate for the Tea Party, and although the state was
already famous for its anti-gay policies back then, Esk was apparently dismayed
by his fellow candidates’ reluctance to grow a real spine on the issue: “I
think we would be totally in the right to do it,” said Esk, adding that
stoning gay people to death “goes against some parts of libertarianism, I
realize, and I’m largely libertarian, but ignoring as a nation things that are
worthy of death is very remiss.” You see, stoning “was done in the Old
Testament under a law that came directly from God” and “what was done
back then was what’s just. … And I do stand for Biblical morality.” Now, to
pacify those with some concerns about his suitability for the legislature, Esk
was quick to add that “I never said I would author legislation to put
homosexuals to death, but I didn’t have a problem with it.” So there.
And if you consider
aspects of his view to be offensive, Esk is ready to set the record straight: “The fact is, that it’s much
more offensive knowing what obscene things homosexuals do with each other than
it is for somebody to hold the view that it is indecent.” Esk ultimately
received 5% of his district’s vote in the primary; not much, perhaps, but it
means that a number of people did vote for him, and he received some 43% when he tried again in 2022.
Diagnosis:
Thing is, Scott Esk and his views represent a major strand of American
“libertarianism” – one that makes “libertarianism” hard to distinguish from
Taliban- or ISIS-style theocracies – and he does, apparently, enjoy far more
support than reasonable people would like to think.
