Take a bow, Chuck Fazio – you’re definitely our hero of the week!

YIPPEE! We have just learned that the man hired by a group of mad fundies to provide the lectern and mikes for their anti-gay hate fest in Washington on Monday neatly turned the tables on the crazies.

A group of gay men and lesbians who took part in a rally in Washington earlier this year. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images.

Chuck Fabio donated the cash he earned from the evangelists to gay activists who turned out to counter the rally – then gave the counter-demonstators use of the microphones before shutting down the amp.

“I don’t want bad karma,” Fazio explained, noting with some pride that the lectern they were using was the same one used by Borat on a recent Washington visit.

The leading light behind the evangelists’ rally – Dr Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission – was less than ecstatic when gay rights activists put in an appearance. He was even more annoyed when they were given an amplified voice – and a platform to boot.

When David Valk, an organizer of the National Equality March for gay rights, said “We’re here to say, my love is legit!”, a furious Cass rounded on him, saying:

You guys gonna help us pay for the microphones?

Valk smiled, and said:

God works in mysterious ways.

Then, to add insult to injury, the cops at one point intervened to help the ministers, by ordering the gay rights activists to move away.

This effectively wrecked the fundies’ game plan. They had gathered outside the Justice Department to prove what a poor, persecuted bunch they were, and were hoping that, if police action were taken, it would be taken against THEM! They really, REALLY wanted to be arrested and made martyrs of for saying unkind things about faggots, but the police refused to play ball.

The Rev Patrick Mahoney, concerned that the gay protesters would emerge looking like the victims rather than the religious conservatives, went to the microphone to assure the activists that:

We did not ask law enforcement to have you moved off of there. They did that on their own. We believe in free speech.

As he spoke, two men, standing behind Mahoney, kissed each other.

Commented Dana Milbank, who reported the event for the Washington Post:

A conservative Christian minister speaking up for the rights of gay activists as he shared the stage with canoodling men? God does work in mysterious ways.

Hat tip: JarrodB