Students rallied around the free speech zone as religious demonstrator Matt Bourgault preached religious and controversial rhetoric at the crowd.

Bourgault stood inside the crowd of protesting students from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, wearing a large sign with the words “The Lord God Hates” before presenting a list of items which included atheism, lying, abortion, Mormonism, Catholicism and more. His five hour demonstration consisted of religious preaching mixed with vulgar comments and slurs directed at students.

Multiple students interviewed by The News said that Bourgault had hurled sexist slurs at passersbys and women in the crowd. His speech contained multiple homophobic and transphobic comments, many levied against lesbians specifically. Another sign held by the demonstrator listed lesbians as a group who would soon face “judgement” as well as sodomites, abortionists and calvinists.

“He looked at me and told me that he had to take pliers to pull all the piercings out of my face,” said Cayley Land, sophomore theater major. “He was looking at other people and saying that they deserve to have abortions or deserve to die.”

Bourgault is no stranger to the Murray State campus. Last year he held a similar demonstration which also drew in a large crowd of student protestors.

Students fought back against the demonstrator, yelling, laughing and chanting in an attempt to drown him out. Some students got into religious debates with Bourgault while others threw their own vulgar comments at him. Campus police were on scene to maintain the distance between the demonstrator and the crowd of students which surrounded the free speech zone.

Early in the demonstration, a student brought a large pride flag, which they and other students held up during a significant portion of Bourgault’s speech. Later, two condom packets and some loose change were thrown into the free speech zone as students handed out free popcorn to onlookers. Near the end of the demonstration, a student in a raccoon onesie brought a small, bright yellow inflatable mattress and laid beside Bourgault on the grass while reading manga.

One student, equipped with his own copy of the Bible, engaged in a lengthy debate with Bourgault on the nature of God and Christianity. Afterwards, the student gave a speech to the surrounding onlookers about his own religious experiences and how Bourgault’s rhetoric is not representative of Christianity.

On the lawn across from the free speech zone, Benjamin Suckow set up his own Bible study area to help pull students away from Bourgault. Suckow, sophomore computer information systems major, said he had originally joined the crowd of students before realizing there was no point in engaging with Bourgault or his rhetoric, so he created a place where students could have a civil discussion on religion. He also handed out water and other refreshments to students who asked.

“There’s a lot of hate and he’s admitted to it. He said something along the lines of ‘I’m not here to spread love and pass out water,’ essentially calling me out. ‘I’m here to show you the wrath of God.’ It’s just, I don’t understand that line of thinking,” Suckow said before speaking on the positive impacts he had seen church and religious service have on his community. “There’s been a lot of good done through the love of God, not the hate of God.”

Owen Favella, freshman psychology major, said he felt similarly. Favella is a recent convert to Christianity.

“He read his Bible, but he certainly wasn’t reading it the way he should,” Favella said. “He was forgetting the fundamental aspect of how Jesus is very loving, God is very loving … I think he was just using religion as an excuse to spread his own personal resentment towards certain people. I don’t think his entire presentation was a very good representation of Christianity.”

Unlike the rest of campus, use of the free speech zone by groups or individuals outside the University for events does not require sponsorship by a University organization or department. According to the University, speech is not restricted in the zone unless the restriction is deemed consistent with the Constitution, such as incitement of violence.

A schedule of future events in the free speech zone is available on the Murray State website at https://www.murraystate.edu/campus/CurrisCenter/Forms.aspx