David Agema is a Michigan wingnut politician, former memberof the Michigan House of Representatives, and current (2014) member of theRepublican National Committee and the chairman of the Top Gun Republicanpolitical action committee.

Agema, who is a self-proclaimed pro-life Republican, isactively vocal in his opposition to homosexuality and gay marriage, as well ascensorship (partially because he views it as a serious democratic problem thathe cannot say offensive things without beingcriticized) – despite his alleged views on censorshiphe has endorsed Russia’s anti-gay laws,regardless of that law’s rather blatant attempt to censor free speech; but thatwould be censoring speech Agemadisagreeswith, and that’s very different. (I suppose he views himself as an opponentof censorship mostly because ofthis).

In 2013, he faced calls to resign from the RepublicanNational Committee after he posted extracts from an article entitled “EveryoneShould Know These Statistics On Homosexuals,” in which he claimed thathomosexuals lived a “filthy lifestyle,” were responsible for 50 percent of U.S.murders and that many are paedophiles. RNC chairman Reince Priebus, forinstance, was not very impressed, but he also played surprised by thestatements – pretending not to have noticed thatAgema is hardly the only RNC member with views like these;check out for instance:

-      Tamara Scott (Iowa), whoalleged that the legalizationof gay marriage hurt her state’s economy and that marriage equalitywill pave the way for man-Eiffel Tower marriage.

-      Steve Scheffler (Iowa), of the Faith and Family Coalitionchapter, who falsely links homosexuality to pedophilia and claims that gay mentypically don’t live past the age of 47.

-      Bill Armistead (Alabama), who claims same-sex marriage willlead to polygamy, that acceptance of gay people is a “sad testament to where weare as a nation,” and that tolerance of LGBT people puts “America on a slipperyslope.”

-      Debbie Joslin (Alaska), who wishes to ban mention ofhomosexuals in schools and anti-bullying measures since increased tolerance would“foster confusion in the minds of our children.”

-      Ada Fisher (North Carolina), who was outraged whenObama and Clinton endorsed marriage equality, suggesting that it showed a lackof respect for straight people, and that her opposition was motivated partiallyby concern for black families (right …).  

Agema, however,blamed Priebus’s criticisms on the devil.

Why don’t people know the statistics Agema cites? Well,Agema got them from theFRC,Frank Joseph  andPaul Cameron (an extremist and activist who poses as a researcher) and similar sources, sono – there isn’t the faintest trace of methodologically sound research behindthem. Surprised?

Although he tried to distance himself a bit from the claimslater on,he repeated them in an interview was with WPIQ in Manistique, an obscure radio show that heprobably thought none of his critics would listen to. And he went in with fullforce when talking to rabid fundamentalistTony Perkins,arguing that gay people should be treated no differently than alcoholics, repeated his earlyclaims, and complained that wealthy and powerful gay activists were in aconspiracy against him to suppress “the facts” and making the truth-tellers“shut up” (Perkins agreed, and added that homosexuality is “personallydestructive and harmful to the society as well”). Indeed, Agemahas claimed that he is fighting gay rights to save America from destruction; just “[l]ook at theGreek empire, look at the Roman empire,” which suggests that he is not tooconcerned with historical accuracy. He alsopointed out the major and destructive repercussions legalizing gay marriage has had in “Denmark,Netherlands and Switzerland,” but didn’t go into details (that Switzerland hasnot legalized gay marriage is only one of the problems). “I don’t hate gaypeople,” said Agema; “I just think they’re trying to destroy America like theydestroyed every other civilization.” Right.

Oh, andObama is a secret Muslim.

Agema has also been condemned by Michigan Governor RickSnyder, after alleging homosexuals were in favor of health care reform because“they’re dying between 30 and 44 years old.” In particular,he claimed thatwhile working at American Airlines, he saw American Airlines workers who wouldsay a person with AIDS was their lover so that person could get medicalbenefits (no, he didn’t try to back it up, and it’s unclear what social problem theassertion would illustrate if it were true). Said Agema: “To me, it’s a moralissue. It’s a Biblical issue.” Indeed, Agemaclaimed that it was “immoral” toinsure gay people because their “lifestyle” kills them.So he really doesn't know what “moral” means and thus, as so many others, he confusesit with “things others do and I don’t and therefore don’t like.”

Bryan Fischer,however,claimed Agema is just like Jesus.

Though Agema has received most attention for his anti-gayefforts, it is probably little surprise that he also harbors strong creationistsympathies. For instance, in 2008, while a state representative, he and StateSenator Bill Hardimanwere the sponsors ofa bill that would let schools teach “alternative views” of evolution, global warming and cloning, referringdirectly to the Discovery Institute’sAcademic Freedom campaign in the process (it is worth mentioning the co-sponsors Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, and Mark Jansen, R-GainesTownship).

Then there isthis,which tells you a bit about how Agema evaluates his sources – partially inresponse to that one some of his fellow RNC membershave tried to kick him out (some of his fans mounted someinteresting defense attempts),butthey seem to be a long away way from succeeding.