Kirk Cameron is playing the victim card for all that it’s worth. Following up his new partnership with the National Organization for Marriage, Cameron spoke at Liberty University last week about the comments he made in an interview with Piers Morgan in March. Choosing not to reiterate his belief that homosexuality is “unnatural,” “detrimental,” and “ultimately destructive” to society, Cameron simply said that his words constituted “love speech,” and that liberals tried to “crucify” him for these remarks:

CAMERON: Will you speak the truth in love? Because the truth is always “love speech,” it’s not “hate speech.” The truth, communicated with compassion, with a desire to see people in a right relationship with God — helped, and healed, and whole — is the most genuine form of love speech you can give to anyone. Am I right?

But you know, I also learned a lesson from that. And that is that blasphemy laws are still alive and well in America. And I seem to have blasphemed the God of political correctness and they tried to drag me out into the public square and crucify me.

Watch it (via Right Wing Watch):

Condemning an entire group of people as a bane on society can hardly be considered “love speech,” nor does accountability for such harmful remarks constitute crucifixion.

LGBT Youth in New Jersey invited Kirk Cameron to meet with them this week during his visit, but apparently Cameron is too busy. Even though the whole point of the meeting was so that Cameron could learn about the teens’ experiences, he responded (through spokesperson Mark Craig) by encouraging them to listen to more of his homophobic comments:

CRAIG: I want to share this thought with you, from someone who sees and works with Kirk almost everyday of the year – I promise you his goal is not one of trying to hurt people in any way, in fact it is just the opposite. He has a concern for their well being – not only now, but eternally. He goes out to share a positive message through events like this weekend and I assure you he will only be presenting a positive/ inspiring message.

I would like to suggest if you really are interested in Kirk’s thoughts on the matter, you can listen online to the interviews and comments Kirk has shared where he was given ample time to communicate his heart and thoughts. I hope you can attend the event and see for yourself.

Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) intervened, condemning Craig’s letter as “compounding” the young people’s concerns, offering to meet with the Youth Caucus in Cameron’s place at their luncheon tomorrow.

Following Craig’s suggestion, here again is one of Cameron’s “positive/inspiring messages,” telling CNN’s Piers Morgan that homosexuality is “unnatural, detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization”:

The Garden State Equality’s Youth Caucus may not have come up empty in their effort to meet with Cameron. Members of The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, the religious organization that invited Cameron to New Jersey, have agreed to listen to their stories. It was that group that sued New Jersey for the right to discriminate against same-sex couples with their public-use boardwalk pavilion, but lost because their tax-exemption was tied to the a conservation and recreation state program, not their religious status. Their willingness to listen, along with Rep. Pallone’s support, will at least help the LGBT youth appreciate that their experiences matter.

In an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan on Friday, Rick Santorum defended Kirk Cameron’s recent remarks that homosexuality is “unnatural” and “detrimental and destructive to society,” suggesting that “both sides need to respect both sides.” Santorum believes that it’s just as offensive when LGBT activists suggest that individuals with beliefs like his are “bigots or haters”:

SANTORUM: I think both sides need to respect both sides… As someone who’s been very public about this, I respect people who disagree with me. I think they have a right to go out and make their case and sell it to the American public and try to change the law if they see fit. But, I don’t use language that, you know, calls them bigots or haters, and nor should they think that someone, because they simply disagree with them on that subject, should be treated the same. So I think rhetoric on both sides needs to be judicious and fair and respecting people’s difference of opinion.

Santorum then admitted he hadn’t even heard Cameron’s remarks. Watch it:

Cameron’s comments were hardly judicious, considering they defamed an entire population of people. Michelangelo Signoreli points out the double standard at play that counters Santorum’s plea for “both sides to respect both sides”:

Last time I checked, people characterized as bigots were not being bullied in schools or bludgeoned on the streets. Bigots can even get married in every state in America — even to other bigots, if they choose — and they can obviously be open about their bigotry, even on national television. But the sad truth is, it is still dangerous in much of America for people to be openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And that’s because of bigotry of the kind espoused by Kirk Cameron.