On Monday, CBS 42 News reported that a church in northeast Alabama is apologizing for comments made at a campaign stop on the premises by Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim James.
"Life Chapel, a church in Rainsville, said Sunday evening that it had removed the video of the speaker’s remarks from its social media page after what it called valid concerns 'from so many,'" reported Lee Hedgepeth. "While the church did not mention James by name, video obtained by CBS 42 shows the gubernatorial candidate speaking in the church, a Life Chapel logo on the lower left of the screen."
"In the video, James said that on a visit to downtown Richmond, Virginia, which he described as politically 'blue,' he noticed that people around him looked like 'they were from Mars,'" said the report. '"There were tattoos from the head to the toe,' James said. 'Some girl came walking by. I mean she was about six four, plus her heels, and she had a great big old mohawk, nothing down each side but a tattoo. And it was a freak show.'"
According to the report, James also claimed that the Roe v. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decisions were a "usurpation of authority" by the devil.
Life Chapel fully disavowed James' tirade against tattoos. “Our heart is that Life Chapel is a place where everyone feels welcomed,” the church said in a statement. “We have many congregants with tattoos, with interesting choices of clothing or things of the like. This statement did not reflect us well. We own up to it. Please forgive us.”
James, the son of a former Alabama governor, has repeatedly courted controversy in the race. He claimed that lifting a ban on yoga in public schools is a gateway drug to Hinduism and he forced an LGBTQ-affirming charter school to hire extra security after he attacked it in a campaign ad.
