Michigan TV Station Under Siege Over Anti-Gay Program From The American Family Association

A Michigan television station that was slated to run Silencing Christians, the hate-filled informercial from the American Family Association, has canceled its running twice as the station receives pressure from Christiantist and LGBT groups over the show.

A controversial one-hour paid program on the "radical homosexual agenda" scheduled for WOOD-TV is delayed for the second time as partisans on both sides debate its merit. Opponents decry it as verging on hate speech, as they press WOOD-TV officials to cancel a special funded by the American Family Association. But backers are just as passionate in their belief it should air, adding heat to an issue that has long divided West Michigan. The program was originally slated to air Monday in the time slot before President Barack Obama's 8 p.m. news conference.

WOOD-TV program director Craig Cole said Tuesday that station officials decided to move it to Wednesday, before it was moved again. "We didn't feel that it was the appropriate place, leading into the presidential event," Cole said. Cole said he had received about a hundred emails on the subject, about evenly split on the issue.

In a letter promoting the program, the American Family Association asserts that most Americans get their "information about the homosexual movement from the secular news media and Hollywood, which not only support but promote the gay agenda. What people know is tainted by pro-homosexual propaganda." Colette Beighley, assistant director of Grand Valley State University's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center, called it "irresponsible programming. I am just so disappointed that WOOD-TV would participate in something like this.

As I noted on Monday, the program attacks the gay community on virtually every aspect of the LGBT rights movement, including marriage equality, hate crimes protections, and gay parenting. It's an hour-long assault that we cannot allow to get a foothold on any station. Please use this contact form to tell WOOD-TV how you feel about Silencing Christians.

UPDATE: I see by my outclick tracker that over 1000 of you have visited WOOD-TV's contact form already today. So maybe we can take some small credit for this:

WOOD TV8 has rescinded the offer to air a controversial paid program originally set to air Monday. "Speechless: Silencing Christians" was scheduled to air Monday at 7 p.m ., in the slot immediately before President Barack Obama's prime time press conference. The program was pulled from that slot. The producers were contacted and offered another time slot. In a statement Wednesday, WOOD/WOTV/WXSP General Manager Diane Kniowski said the offer is now off the table. "We made a gesture of the 2-3 p.m. Saturday time period. It's been 24 hours and we had no response," Kniowski said. "Our station is being bombarded with calls and messages, and we find ourselves in the middle of someone else's fight. Ours was a fair offer and we are removing ourselves from this matter."

I will continue to follow the story. But for now, THE GAYS WIN.