25/05/2022
Mark Drakeford, the First Minister for Wales, has told the Welsh Assembly, or Senedd, In Caerdydd / Cardiff that it is with regret that the far right preacher Franklin Graham is to be allowed to hold a rabble rousing rally at the International Convention Centre in Newport. Mr Drakeford was responding to a question from Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, who spoke for many by pointing out that Franklin Graham is a fringe extremist, having lauded pariah state Russia for its homophobic policies and antagonism towards the human rights of atheists, LGBTQIA people and pagans. Mr Price said “Now Mr Graham may be entitled to his homophobic beliefs but he's surely not entitled to be provided with a stage to air them at a convention centre that is 50% owned by the Welsh Government. Does not that not send out the wrong message from Wales and one that says homophobia and hate are somehow still acceptable?" Franklin Graham claimed that he was sharing a message of love, but critics including the network Pride Cymru cited his many violent exhortations against minorities as evidence of his vicious homophobia and fundamentalist hatred.
