He Wants to Be Governor. He Would Ban Islam, Morning-After Pills for Rape Victims
Tennessee state Rep. Monty Fritts, who identifies as a Christian nationalist, is running for the GOP nomination for governor. What does he believe?
Be sure to catch my report on this interview Thursday evening on Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 and online at NewsChannel5.com.
He defines himself as a Christian nationalist, and Republican state Rep. Monty Fritts wants to be the next governor of Tennessee.
But what would being a Christian nationalist mean in terms of the policies the second-term legislator would push if given the chance?
This week, to his credit, Fritts agreed to chat with me about the implications of his beliefs. (Please watch the full, unedited interview below.)
Here’s what he revealed:
Yes to church bells, no to Muslim calls to prayer
Fritts would like to ban Muslim calls to prayer in Tennessee communities and, if given the chance, he would ban Islam itself. He makes an argument that has repeatedly failed in the courts that Islam is not a real religion and, therefore, Muslims do not deserve protection under the First Amendment.
“And I'm not picking on just Islam,” he added. “I would offer that for Buddhism or Hinduism or many of these other pagan religions. I would like to see them not exist in the United States of America.
He continued, “I would like to see that everyone would refer to Christ as King. That would be my goal.”
Watch excerpt below:
Criminalize abortion, ban morning-after pill
Fritts signed onto a bill this past legislative session that would have treated abortion as murder, subjecting anyone involved in the process—including the women—to potential imprisonment, potentially even the death penalty.
That includes rape victims.
Fritts would also deny the morning-after pill to those women who are sexually assaulted.
“As I understand it, that chemical, that medication can also become an abortifacient,” the candidate for governor told me. “And so, to administer those either with tax dollars or without when there’s a chance that you could be ending a life, I think that’s murder. I think we shouldn’t do it.”
Four years ago, the Food and Drug Administration clarified that the morning-after pill does not cause an abortion—it stops the pregnancy.
Fritts is apparently not convinced.
Watch excerpt below:
Still, I wondered, What does the Republican candidate think Jesus would do.
“You think Jesus would tell a raped woman she has to get pregnant and have a baby of a rapist?” I asked.
“Well,” Fritts answered, “she’s already pregnant if she’s pregnant if that’s the case—and I think that he did consider life to be absolutely precious.”
And there’s more…
Monty Fritts would also like to end same-sex marriage and criminalize certain sexual activity among same-sex couples—”based on the authority of God’s word and the natural design of it.”
In his Christian nationalist world, he would subject doctors who perform gender reassignment surgeries to imprisonment, potentially even death.
Fritts’ standard in deciding whether to follow court orders would be whether he agrees with them and thinks they are in keeping with God’s word.
He favors deporting every undocumented immigrant, as well as any person in the United States on a visa, and ending all legal immigration for an unspecified period of time.
Still, Fritts said he rejects traditional Christian nationalist notions that America must, by definition, forever remain majority White.
Watch the full, unedited interview below: