WOOD-TV Channel 8, under pressure from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists in Grand Rapids and from Washington D.C. has announced it will not air a controversial special from the American Family Association.

The film can be viewed here. 

The special, an hour-long infomercial alleging the gay agenda is meant to silence Christians, was originally scheduled to be aired on the Grand Rapids NBC affiliate on Monday night, but was rescheduled because the station did not feel it was “right” to lead into President Barack Obama’s prime time press conference. WOOD-TV had offered to run the program on Saturday, Feb. 14, but has since rescinded that offer, according to a statement on the station’s website.

“We made a gesture of the 2-3 p.m. Saturday time period. It’s been 24 hours and we had no response,” [Diane] Kniowski [WOOD TV 8 General Manager] said. “Our station is being bombarded with calls and messages, and we find ourselves in the middle of someone else’s fight. Ours was a fair offer and we are removing ourselves from this matter.”

The scheduled airing resulted in a massive outcry from the community, lead by Colette Beighley, the new associate director of Grand Valley State University’s LGBT Resource Center, and the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization based in Washington D.C.

Beighley started a Facebook Group on the issue, and HRC issued an action alert to some 900,000 activists nationwide.

A press release from HRC said the program contained the following “lies”:

1. Lie: If hate crimes laws are passed, pastors will be prosecuted for preaching what the Bible says about homosexuality.

Truth: Pastors will not be held liable for hate crimes based on preaching anti-gay sermons. The First Amendment protects a preacher from being charged as an accessory to a hate crime simply because of their speech. The Matthew Shepard Act only punishes violent crimes, not a person’s speech, beliefs or thoughts. In fact, the legislation contains language specifically protecting free speech.

2. Lie: Legislation that will provide employment protection based on sexual orientation or gender identity will force churches to hire homosexuals.

Truth: The federal legislation contains language exempting the vast majority of religious corporations, associations and educational institutions, and permits all religious organizations to condition employment on compliance with its significant tenets, including ones barring LGBT employees.

3. Lie: Homosexual acts have a key role to play in the spread of all STDs and HIV/AIDS.

Truth: HIV and STDs don’t distinguish by gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic. Statements such as those made by the AFA in this video hamper efforts to prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases by spreading ignorance and misinformation.

4. Lie: Allowing the government to redefine marriage hurts children because studies show children need a mother and father to do well in life.

Truth: All scientifically reputable studies on the subject of same-sex parenting show that the sexual orientation of a child’s parent does not affect a child. Furthermore, all leading children’s welfare and rights organizations conclude that there is no measurable difference between children raised by loving lesbian and gay families and those raised by different-sex couples.

In a phone interview, Beighley said she was “happy” the station had rescinded the offer to air the program. She said the cancellation showed the “true values” of Grand Rapids.

“It showed, once again, how their (people’s) voices can be heard,” she said.

Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, did not return a message left at his office, or an email request for comment.