May 15, 2007 | Sex & Society

Farewell Falwell

U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell, a leader of the religious right who battled in the political arena against abortion and homosexuality, died today after collapsing in his Virginia office.

Falwell founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1956 and rapidly rose to be one of the most prominent figures in the religious right. He was a founder of the Moral Majority, a powerful movement that sought to to redraw public policy along Christian lines. Among his most outrageous claims: 9/11 was God's punishment on America for tolerating gays and lesbians; and Teletubbie Tinky Winky was queer. Falwell will be missed ... but not by us!