SACRAMENTO (KRON) — Sacramento’s LGBT community is reacting to inflammatory comments from a local pastor about the massacre in Orlando.
Just hours after the rampage that left 49 people dead, the pastor was caught on video appearing to praise the attack.
“We don’t need to do anything. As far as I’m concerned, Orlando is just a little safer tonight,” Pastor Roger Jimenez said on the video.
Youtube video of Jimenez shows him speaking about the tragedy that struck Orlando on Sunday morning.
“As Christians, should we not be mourning the deaths of these 50 vile perverted predators?” Jimenez said on the video.
Sandrea Nelson was not sure how to react to what Jimenez said. Nelson is the Pride director of the Davis-Phoenix Coalition, and he also grew up Baptist.
He said in all his years of attending church, no pastor ever spoke of inequality.
“He’s not a man of God. He’s not a man teaching a true religion,” Nelson said.
“I wish the government would round them all up and put them up against a firing wall, put a firing squad (upon them), and blow their brains out!” Jimenez said on the video.
Nelson said it is hateful, violent statements like Jimenez’s that keeps many in the LGBT community shut out.
“This can definitely cause more harm to our LGBT youth and those still living in the closet that are older,” Nelson said. “It causes our suicide rates to go up. It causes kids to feel like they’re worthless.”
CNN tried to speak with Jimenez on Monday morning about the inflammatory comments he appeared to make in his speech.
This was his response:
“I’m not able to talk right now. I’m actually in the middle of a few things.”
With the LGBT community recently celebrating marriage equality, Nelson said they’ve become complacent but the fight for equality still isn’t over.
“The bottom line is to love thy brother as you love thyself,” Nelson said.
Sacramento’s mayor took to Twitter and condemned the inflammatory remarks.
The hateful comments made by a preacher in Sacramento do not reflect Christian values and have no place in our society. #standwithorlando
– Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) June 14, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsCNN contributed to this report.