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Pop Group Cancels Appearance at Liberty After Taking Jerry Falwell’s Words Out of Context

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

August 13, 2019

The indie pop group LANY cancelled its upcoming appearance at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, after seeing an old video taking the words of college president Jerry Falwell, Jr., out of context.

A Twitter user identified only as Caitlin recently shared a brief clip of Falwell speaking to students during the Christian university’s weekly convocation. Falwell’s address came in 2015, in the wake of the deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California.

i was completely unaware about Liberty University & what they stand for as an institution & i’m hoping y’all are as well. please do not speak here. please do not perform here. please do not associate Lany with THIS. @pauljasonklein @thisisLANY https://t.co/xdGAZH0dKK

— caitlin (@caitlincalhoun_) August 6, 2019

Falwell’s old comments were certainly ill-advised, but they have been manipulated over the past few years. The clip circulated on social media leads uninformed viewers to believe the 57-year-old college executive encouraged students to obtain concealed carry permits for the express purpose of killing Muslims.

That is not what Falwell said.

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According to a report at the time by The Washington Post, Falwell was specifically referring to those responsible — a Muslim couple — for the 2015 shooting that left 14 people dead and more than a dozen others injured.

He went on to encourage students to legally carry firearms because “if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in.” Falwell was referring to Tashfeen Malik and Rizwan Farook when he said “those Muslims.”

Falwell told the Post that, if given the chance, he “would clarify” who he was referring to when he said “those Muslims.” Aside from that lone caveat, he told the newspaper he’d “say exactly the same thing” again.

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Despite the context, though, LANY frontman Paul Klein described Falwell’s comments as “disgusting,” thanked Caitlin for sharing it with him, and announced the group would cancel their appearance at Liberty because the band “stands for equality and togetherness only.”

LANY is not a faith-based band, but Klein is a Christian. He attended the religious Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and LANY drummer Jake Goss formerly toured with the Christian band Jars of Clay.

A spokesperson for Liberty told The Christian Post they have not heard directly from a representative for LANY, but said the school “gathered that the concert was no longer happening” because of Klein’s tweets.

Faithwire has reached out to Falwell for comment. If he responds, this article will be updated to include his remarks.

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