Pat Robertson on if Equality Act passes: The land will ‘vomit you out’

Prominent evangelical leader Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God will get rid of the United States as a nation if it passes the Equality Act, legislation aimed at extending federal protections to the LGBT community.

“They always give good names to these things,” Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network while discussing the bill. “This is a devastating blow to religious freedom and to the sanctity of America. If you want to bring the judgment of God on this nation, you just keep this stuff up.”

{mosads}”I was reading in Leviticus where it says because of these things the land ‘will vomit you out,'” Robertson continued. “Vomit you out. I think God will say, ‘I’ve had it with America if you do this kind of stuff, I’m going to get rid of you as a nation.'”

The televangelist then appeared to liken the potential effects of the legislation to an atomic war or “solar strike.”

“We want the blessing of God, not the curse of God,” he added, before describing the legislation as an “attack on religious freedom.”

Democratic lawmakers in March reintroduced the Equality Act, a bill that aims to give federal protections against discrimination to people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

If signed into law, the measure would ban discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, education, federal programs and credit.

The House is expected to vote on the bill within days, and it appears all but certain to pass the Democratic-led chamber, though President Trump has signaled his opposition to the measure.

“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all,” a senior administration official told NBC News. “However, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.”

While Democrats have mostly praised the legislation, some conservatives have criticized the bill.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said in a statement that the measure could “force employers and workers to conform to new sexual norms or else lose their businesses and jobs.”