Josh Duggar owes the lgbt community an apology

"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him. I brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions that happened when I was 14-15 years old, and now I have re-broken their trust. The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country, in my heart I had allowed Satan to build a fortress that no one knew about. As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose to our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example. I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time." - Josh Duggar

There is no need to rehash the reason why former "culture warrior" Josh Duggar has earmarked his place in history as a punchline. But I will be bitchy about that apology.

Truth be told, Josh Duggar owes the lgbt community an apology.

I don't really care if he watched porn or cheated on his wife. I DO CARE that he did these things while traveling across the country demonzing lgbts.

In between watching porn and possibly diddling women who he wasn't married to, Duggar gave speeches under the auspices of the anti-gay group the Family Research Council in which he attacked gays as enemies of morality who wanted to jail Christians and destroy the family. He aided and abetted the sick lie that transgender men and women are predators who will invade bathrooms and locker rooms with nefarious purposes in mind. And in doing so, he made life difficult for not only adult lgbts like myself but also our lgbt children.  He made it difficult for them to go to school without being bullied and to love themselves without caveats.

On that score alone, he owes another apology specifically to our kids.

Duggar gave excuses for ignorance, hatred, and bigotry against the lgbt community. And he would tell you until he was blue in the face that he did these things in accordance to his faith, i.e. the same faith he betrayed in between spinning his homophobic lies.

Just who is the enemy of morality in this situation?  It's not us in the lgbt community.

The sad thing is that the karmic irony of the situation probably escapes Duggar.  I'm not so naive to think that any apology will be forthcoming.  I'll simply console myself with the knowledge that like every demagogue does sooner or later, Duggar destroyed his own reputation.

But I will also have a degree of solemnity for those he hurt before his much deserved downward spiral.