Scott Esk campaigned for a different seat in 2013 when he said that according to the Bible, Christians would be “absolutely right” to kill homosexuals in a Facebook comment thread. The comments gained renewed attention as Mr. Esk prepares to face Republican Gloria Bannister in a runoff election for Oklahoma’s 87th District on Tuesday. Pressed for the remarks ahead of this week’s election, Mr Esk appeared to double down by calling it “totally right” to kill gay people because it “came straight from God”. In 2013, in an article about the Pope asking “who am I to judge?” regarding homosexuals, Mr. Esk posted bible verses denouncing homosexuality in the comments section. Another user asked him if “we should execute homosexuals (possibly by stoning)?” “I think we would have absolutely the right to do that,” he replied, according to MSNBC. “This goes against some parts of libertarianism, I realize, and I’m very much a libertarian, but to ignore as a nation things that deserve death is quite an oversight.” He posted a 19-minute video on YouTube on July 15 this year to “set the record straight” in response to a local report about his earlier comments. He asked in the video whether having an “opinion against homosexuality” meant he was “homophobic”, adding that he believed it “just makes me a Christian”. He added that he is “not in favor of expanding the death penalty for homosexuality” but still criticized what he said he believed to be the “obscene things that homosexuals do”. Speaking to The Oklahoman, he called a 2014 article referring to his comments a “hit piece.” Esk appeared to repeat his controversial statements in a recent interview with Moore Monthly, saying: “I think these kinds of sins will not do our country any good. And he certainly doesn’t do anything to maintain the family.” Moore Monthly news director Rob Morris told KFOR News 4 last month, “I looked at it and thought, ‘Oh my God, did a candidate for political office actually post this on Facebook?’ Calling on Esk to clarify the comments, the candidate told Morris: “What I will tell you now is that this was done in the Old Testament under a law that came directly from God. And at that time there was, it was completely just coming directly from God. I have no plans to bring it back into Oklahoma law. I have some pretty huge moral qualms about these kinds of sins.” The news director told KFOR, “I bent over backwards to give him a chance to soften what he said a little bit and he didn’t.” Mr Esk posted a similar video on YouTube in August 2015. “I have compassion [for] anyone who is in the grip of an insidious addiction, like homosexuality, and wants to help them,” he said in the 32-minute video. “Any Christian should be able to say this is sin or this is good. If we don’t make that distinction, we’re not going to help people.” “Mr. Esk’s views do not align with mine or reflect the views of Republican voters in HD87 and he certainly should not be our party’s candidate in the November election,” Ms. Bannister told KFOR. Mr Eask posted a third YouTube video to “set the record straight” on August 21. He wrote in the description, “I predict that Gloria’s attempts to embarrass me will backfire on her and I will have a much bigger margin of victory against her on Tuesday than I did in June, but it’s all in God’s hands!”
