{"id":1908,"date":"2011-02-23T08:11:07","date_gmt":"2011-02-23T13:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/deaconsbench\/?p=1908"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:47:39","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:47:39","slug":"florida-pro-life-candidate-jokes-about-abortion-bombing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2011\/02\/florida-pro-life-candidate-jokes-about-abortion-bombing\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida pro-life candidate jokes about abortion bombing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

And it was okay, he said, because his audience was Catholic.<\/p>\n

The story: <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jacksonville mayoral candidate Mike Hogan<\/a>\u2018s statement that jokes about abortion clinic bombings are OK if delivered in front of Catholic audiences isn\u2019t sitting well with Catholics, including those heavily engaged in the movement to ban abortion.<\/p>\n

And a fellow Baptist who leads a Jacksonville anti-abortion group said the joke, its subsequent defense and the resulting media coverage could actually impede efforts to ban or limit abortions.<\/p>\n

Hogan<\/a>, a Republican and member of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, made the statement Monday<\/a> after attending a candidates forum at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mandarin.<\/p>\n

He was asked by the audience how his views on the sanctity of life would affect his leadership of Jacksonville. Hogan said he looks forward to the day when Roe v. Wade is overturned, and that the only thing he wouldn\u2019t do is bomb an abortion clinic.<\/p>\n

He then added with a laugh: \u201cbut it may cross my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hogan told a reporter afterward the joke was appropriate because \u201cthis is a Catholic church. I guarantee you they are 110 percent pro-life.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Pete Kelley, president of the parish\u2019s men\u2019s club and the forum moderator, didn\u2019t find the joke funny or its explanation acceptable. Overall, he said, Hogan missed the point that being \u201cpro-life\u201d means being against violence against abortion providers as well as the unborn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core principle is that life in all forms is to be held sacred, from birth until death,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cIt\u2019s not ours to judge those who don\u2019t place that same level of respect on life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience applauded for Hogan when he finished speaking, but Kelley said he didn\u2019t think that signaled their approval of the joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt caught a lot of people off guard that anyone would make that comment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Others were less ruffled.<\/p>\n

Parishioner Brian Shields, founder of a Catholic media company in Jacksonville, agreed the joke was a blunder but cautioned against overreaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason to get so serious about the whole thing,\u201d Shields said. \u201cHonestly, sometimes we say things that maybe we could have said better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacksonville City Council President Jack Webb, who arrived at the forum after Hogan\u2019s talk, said he immediately sensed the buzz around the candidate\u2019s remark.<\/p>\n

Webb said he isn\u2019t personally offended by Hogan\u2019s jest as a member of St. Joseph, but as a Catholic wanted to stress \u201cthat being pro-life\u201d means believing that life runs \u201cfrom conception to natural death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not support radical elements that advocate violence as a means of societal reform,\u201d Webb added, \u201cnor do I find any attempted humor in that regard appropriate.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And it was okay, he said, because his audience was Catholic. The story: Jacksonville mayoral candidate Mike Hogan\u2018s statement that jokes about abortion clinic bombings are OK if delivered in front of Catholic audiences isn\u2019t sitting well with Catholics, including those heavily engaged in the movement to ban abortion. And a fellow Baptist who leads […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,43],"tags":[62,346,583],"class_list":["post-1908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-pro-life","tag-abortion","tag-florida","tag-mike-hogan"],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida pro-life candidate jokes about abortion bombing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"And it was okay, he said, because his audience was Catholic. 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