Moral Majority Co-Founder And Top-Rung Homophobe Paul Weyrich Dies At 66

Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the anti-gay Moral Majority, architect of the Christian Coalition, reputed Dominionist, and ardent opponent of LGBT rights, has died at age 66.

Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, who coined the phrase "moral majority" and helped turn social conservatives into a powerful force in the Republican Party, died Thursday. He was 66. Weyrich's death was announced by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think thank that he had helped to create.

Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan said Weyrich "was instrumental in the development of conservative thought" in America. As the first president of the Heritage Foundation and the leader of other conservative organizations, Weyrich's service "embodied and further advanced the Republican Party's core values of limited government, lower taxes and individual responsibility," added Duncan. Lee Edwards, a Heritage Foundation scholar and a friend, said Weyrich had suffered from ill health in recent years and had both legs amputated.

Condolences and tributes are pouring across the internet from groups like the Concerned Women For America, the Eagle Forum's Phylis Schafly, and Campaign for Working Families head Gary Bauer.

RECENTLY: Two weeks ago Weyrich penned a column for Townhall in which he again warned that Barack Obama would "emasculate the military" by repealing DADT and would force Catholic doctors to perform abortions or lose their medical license.

ASSHAT HALL OF FAME: On the 700 Club in 2006, Weyrich asserted that all gay men are child predators a la Mark Foley.

He will not be missed.