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Wildrose candidate predicts ‘eternity in the lake of fire’ for gays and lesbians; polls predict Wildrose victory

A year-old blog post by a preacher and Wildrose candidate lit up the Alberta election trail Sunday, prompting renewed charges from opponents that the upstart party is more extreme than it lets on. Musing on the Lady Gaga song ‘Born This Way,’ which preaches tolerance, David Allan Hunsperger wrote that: “You can live the way you were born, and if you die the way you were born, then you will suffer the rest of eternity in the lake of fire, hell, a place of eternal suffering.”

At a campaign event in Calgary, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith refused to condemn Hunsperger’s views. From Postmedia:

“When a person is making personal statements in their capacity as a pastor, which he was, I don’t think anybody should be surprised that they’re expressing certain viewpoints,” she said outside a Wildrose photo opportunity at the Calgary Hindu Society’s temple.

“It was a year ago when he was talking in his capacity as a pastor. He now understands, we’ve spoken, we’ve communicated on this, that we will not be legislating on contentious social issues. He understands that. He accepts that.”

Hunsperger’s personal views, however, also extended to the very public Edmonton school system, which he called “godless,” a state he equated to “profane or wicked.”

With only one week remaining in the most competitive Alberta election in a generation, most polls continue to predict a comfortable victory for the Wildrose Party.

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