Report from network’s LGBT unit quotes gunman’s post about ‘accepting Jesus Christ in their hearts’<\/h2>\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/assets\/img\/icon\/chat-rect.svg\")
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<\/source><\/picture>Laura Ann Carleton in an undated photo.<\/span> | Screenshot:YouTube\/@WHAS11News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA report from the LGBT-focused division of NBC News<\/a> appeared to link \u201caccepting Jesus\u201d and criticism of pride propaganda to the murder of a California shopkeeper who was known as an LGBT ally.<\/p>\nIn its lengthy coverage of the fatal shooting of California business owner Laura Ann Carleton, NBC OUT, which features stories and other content about LGBT-identified individuals, cited the stated religious beliefs of gunman Travis Ikeguchi, specifically several anti-LGBT \u201csentiments\u201d he expressed on social media.<\/p>\n
According to police, Ikeguchi, 27, was killed<\/a> Aug. 18 following a shooting at the Mag Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen just east of Lake Arrowhead, where investigators say Ikeguchi made \u201cseveral disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store\u201d before shooting the 66-year-old Carleton, who was a mother of nine and did not publicly identify as LGBT.<\/p>\nA short while later, San Bernardino County Sheriff\u2019s deputies caught up with Ikeguchi, who was shot and killed by authorities who said he was armed with a handgun.<\/p>\n
Carleton died at the scene. She is survived by her husband of 28 years, Bort Carleton, and nine children.<\/p>\n
Online tributes <\/a>remembered her as a \u201cpillar\u201d in her community and \u201can immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice.\u201d<\/p>\nHer daughter, Ari, shared <\/a>an image of her mother along with a caption that said Carleton was \u201cmurdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront.”<\/p>\n\u201cMake no mistake, this was a hate crime,” she said. “Her flags had been torn down before and she always responded by putting up a bigger one.\u201d<\/p>\n
After authorities identified Carleton\u2019s killer, a number of corporate media outlets identified Ikeguchi as a Christian who publicly denounced <\/a>the pride flag. An image <\/a>of Ikeguchi wearing a cross necklace was also shared on social media.<\/p>\nIn its coverage of the shooting, NBC News specifically cited <\/a>Ikeguchi\u2019s religious views on abortion and homosexuality, including citing a now-deleted X account which said, \u201cLGBT people need to stop asking the world for acceptance, instead they should start accepting Jesus Christ in their hearts and turn away from their false sexual identity that the devil deceived them to be.\u201d<\/p>\nNBC News\u2019 Matt Lavietes<\/a> noted in the network\u2019s coverage that the pride rainbow \u2014 a biblical symbol given by God after the Flood in Genesis 9 which was appropriated<\/a> by the gay community in the 1970s \u2014 has \u201cbeen increasingly smeared by conservative media and right-wing online personalities\u201d like The Daily Wire\u2019s Matt Walsh and Chaya Raichik, who runs the influencer account LibsOfTikTok.<\/p>\nLavietes wrote<\/a>, \u201cThe far right has repeatedly linked the flag to the decades-old trope that links gay and transgender people to child abusers who want to \u2018groom\u2019 or sexualize children, a trope that has recently had a resurgence.\u201d<\/p>\nThe NBC reporter quoted LGBT advocate Alejandra Caraballo \u2014 who mockingly<\/a> thanked God on the day of the Nashville Christian school shooting \u2014 as saying both Walsh and Raichik \u201chave blood on their hands for inciting violence against the community.\u201d Last year, Caraballo also called <\/a>for U.S. Supreme Court justices to be accosted and to \u201cnever have a peaceful moment in public again\u201d following the Dobbs<\/em> decision.<\/p>\nWalsh later accused <\/a>the reporter \u2014 whom he referred to as a \u201cgutless smear merchant\u201d \u2014 of \u201cbaselessly blaming [Walsh] for violence,\u201d while Raichik told NBC News, “Why are you comparing anyone who criticizes the progress pride flag being shoved down the throats of children, to a violent murderer?”\u00a0<\/p>\nNotably, Lavietes \u2014 who is listed as a contributor<\/a> to the World Economic Forum \u2014 is the same NBC News reporter who, just days after six people, including three children, were murdered at The Covenant School by a trans-identified woman, lamented<\/a> the \u201cfear\u201d trans-identified people were experiencing in the wake of the shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\nAfter claiming that \u201cconservatives have blamed the shooting on the suspect\u2019s gender identity,\u201d the reporter went on to compare the shooting death of six people with the \u201chistoric numbers of bills targeting [LGBT] people \u2026 in state legislatures across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, NBC News \u201cfact-checked\u201d <\/a>a chant by LGBT activists shouting that they were \u201ccoming for your children\u201d as merely \u201clighthearted\u201d after readers challenged the accuracy of the network’s article.<\/p>\nThe headline for the June 27 article<\/a> from NBC Out, the LGBT-focused brand of NBC News, read: \u201cWe\u2019re Coming For Your Children\u2019 chant at NYC Drag March elicits outrage, but activists say it\u2019s taken out of context,” with a sub-headline reading, \u201cOrganizers say the NYC Drag March is meant to be lighthearted and to poke fun at anti-[LGBT] sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\nNBC\u2019s story claims that the chant originated with \u201can unidentified person\u201d at a pride event in New York City.<\/p>\n
” … One voice that is louder than the crowd \u2014 it\u2019s not clear whose, or whether the speaker was a member of the [LGBT] community \u2014 is heard saying at least twice, ‘We\u2019re here, we\u2019re queer, we\u2019re coming for your children,'” the article stated.<\/p>\n
The story also claimed video footage<\/a> of the chant was \u201ccirculated by a right-wing web streamer channel,\u201d which the outlet did not identify.<\/p>\n\nIan M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of\u00a0BACKWARDS DAD: a children’s book for grownups<\/a><\/em>. He can be reached at:\u00a0ian.giatti@christianpost.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\nJoin thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/source><\/picture>A report from the LGBT-focused division of NBC News<\/a> appeared to link \u201caccepting Jesus\u201d and criticism of pride propaganda to the murder of a California shopkeeper who was known as an LGBT ally.<\/p>\n In its lengthy coverage of the fatal shooting of California business owner Laura Ann Carleton, NBC OUT, which features stories and other content about LGBT-identified individuals, cited the stated religious beliefs of gunman Travis Ikeguchi, specifically several anti-LGBT \u201csentiments\u201d he expressed on social media.<\/p>\n According to police, Ikeguchi, 27, was killed<\/a> Aug. 18 following a shooting at the Mag Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen just east of Lake Arrowhead, where investigators say Ikeguchi made \u201cseveral disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store\u201d before shooting the 66-year-old Carleton, who was a mother of nine and did not publicly identify as LGBT.<\/p>\n A short while later, San Bernardino County Sheriff\u2019s deputies caught up with Ikeguchi, who was shot and killed by authorities who said he was armed with a handgun.<\/p>\n Carleton died at the scene. She is survived by her husband of 28 years, Bort Carleton, and nine children.<\/p>\n Online tributes <\/a>remembered her as a \u201cpillar\u201d in her community and \u201can immovable force in her values for equality, love, and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Her daughter, Ari, shared <\/a>an image of her mother along with a caption that said Carleton was \u201cmurdered over a pride flag that she proudly hung on her storefront.”<\/p>\n \u201cMake no mistake, this was a hate crime,” she said. “Her flags had been torn down before and she always responded by putting up a bigger one.\u201d<\/p>\n After authorities identified Carleton\u2019s killer, a number of corporate media outlets identified Ikeguchi as a Christian who publicly denounced <\/a>the pride flag. An image <\/a>of Ikeguchi wearing a cross necklace was also shared on social media.<\/p>\n In its coverage of the shooting, NBC News specifically cited <\/a>Ikeguchi\u2019s religious views on abortion and homosexuality, including citing a now-deleted X account which said, \u201cLGBT people need to stop asking the world for acceptance, instead they should start accepting Jesus Christ in their hearts and turn away from their false sexual identity that the devil deceived them to be.\u201d<\/p>\n NBC News\u2019 Matt Lavietes<\/a> noted in the network\u2019s coverage that the pride rainbow \u2014 a biblical symbol given by God after the Flood in Genesis 9 which was appropriated<\/a> by the gay community in the 1970s \u2014 has \u201cbeen increasingly smeared by conservative media and right-wing online personalities\u201d like The Daily Wire\u2019s Matt Walsh and Chaya Raichik, who runs the influencer account LibsOfTikTok.<\/p>\n Lavietes wrote<\/a>, \u201cThe far right has repeatedly linked the flag to the decades-old trope that links gay and transgender people to child abusers who want to \u2018groom\u2019 or sexualize children, a trope that has recently had a resurgence.\u201d<\/p>\n The NBC reporter quoted LGBT advocate Alejandra Caraballo \u2014 who mockingly<\/a> thanked God on the day of the Nashville Christian school shooting \u2014 as saying both Walsh and Raichik \u201chave blood on their hands for inciting violence against the community.\u201d Last year, Caraballo also called <\/a>for U.S. Supreme Court justices to be accosted and to \u201cnever have a peaceful moment in public again\u201d following the Dobbs<\/em> decision.<\/p>\n Walsh later accused <\/a>the reporter \u2014 whom he referred to as a \u201cgutless smear merchant\u201d \u2014 of \u201cbaselessly blaming [Walsh] for violence,\u201d while Raichik told NBC News, “Why are you comparing anyone who criticizes the progress pride flag being shoved down the throats of children, to a violent murderer?”\u00a0<\/p>\n Notably, Lavietes \u2014 who is listed as a contributor<\/a> to the World Economic Forum \u2014 is the same NBC News reporter who, just days after six people, including three children, were murdered at The Covenant School by a trans-identified woman, lamented<\/a> the \u201cfear\u201d trans-identified people were experiencing in the wake of the shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n After claiming that \u201cconservatives have blamed the shooting on the suspect\u2019s gender identity,\u201d the reporter went on to compare the shooting death of six people with the \u201chistoric numbers of bills targeting [LGBT] people \u2026 in state legislatures across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, NBC News \u201cfact-checked\u201d <\/a>a chant by LGBT activists shouting that they were \u201ccoming for your children\u201d as merely \u201clighthearted\u201d after readers challenged the accuracy of the network’s article.<\/p>\n The headline for the June 27 article<\/a> from NBC Out, the LGBT-focused brand of NBC News, read: \u201cWe\u2019re Coming For Your Children\u2019 chant at NYC Drag March elicits outrage, but activists say it\u2019s taken out of context,” with a sub-headline reading, \u201cOrganizers say the NYC Drag March is meant to be lighthearted and to poke fun at anti-[LGBT] sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\n NBC\u2019s story claims that the chant originated with \u201can unidentified person\u201d at a pride event in New York City.<\/p>\n ” … One voice that is louder than the crowd \u2014 it\u2019s not clear whose, or whether the speaker was a member of the [LGBT] community \u2014 is heard saying at least twice, ‘We\u2019re here, we\u2019re queer, we\u2019re coming for your children,'” the article stated.<\/p>\n The story also claimed video footage<\/a> of the chant was \u201ccirculated by a right-wing web streamer channel,\u201d which the outlet did not identify.<\/p>\n Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of\u00a0BACKWARDS DAD: a children’s book for grownups<\/a><\/em>. He can be reached at:\u00a0ian.giatti@christianpost.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n