Larry Spencer (December 21, 1941—March 14, 2022
) is a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and former
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for the
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
riding of
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre. He later served as interim national president of the
Christian Heritage Party of Canada
The Christian Heritage Party of Canada (french: Parti de l'héritage chrétien du Canada), also referred to as CHP Canada, is a minor social conservative and Christian right federal political party in Canada; it was founded in 1987, the brainc ...
.
Biography
Spencer was born in
Stockton, Missouri
Stockton is a city in Cedar County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,683 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Cedar County.
History
Stockton was platted in 1846. It was originally named Lancaster, but was renamed Fremont in 1 ...
, United States, in 1942. He worked in
Kansas City, Missouri, for
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...
after graduating from Sheldon High School. He left Hallmark after eight years, and in 1967 worked as a farm hand. He moved to Canada in 1974, after responding to a request to come to Saskatchewan as a church planner for the
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...
, area. He establishe
Discovery Baptist Churchin Regina in 1978 and now assists at Calvary Baptist Church in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where he now resides.
He is married to Sue Brown, whom he met in high school.
Member of Parliament
He was first elected as candidate of
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed ...
in the
2000 federal election. He was appointed family issues critic for the CA caucus, but was later suspended from the
caucus for his controversial remarks. When the CA merged into the new
Conservative Party of Canada, he did not join the caucus of the new party, and thus became an independent. He sought re-election in the
2004 federal election as an independent conservative, but lost.
Views on homosexuality
In late November 2003, Spencer caused controversy in Canada by
Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...
reporter Peter O'Neil when he said that he would support any initiative to outlaw
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
. He stated that in the 1960s, a "well-orchestrated"
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
began and led to recent successes in the gay rights movement. This conspiracy, he further said, included seducing and
recruiting young boys in playgrounds and locker rooms, and deliberately infiltrating North America's schools, judiciaries, entertainment industries, and religious communities. According to him, this conspiracy started with a speech given by a U.S. gay rights activist in the 1960s whose name he could not remember. Spencer stated:
:His quote went something like this ... "We will seduce your sons in the locker rooms, in the gymnasiums, in the hallways, in the playgrounds, and on and on, in this land." It was quite a long quote stating what was going to happen to the young boys of North America.
Spencer further blamed former Canadian prime-minister
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
for the "movement" gaining public acceptance since he legalized homosexuality in Canada in 1969. He mentioned that although no government would have the courage to strike down these laws, and that he would support any initiative that advocated such a move.
He also feared that "
Polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
is next on the list. More than one
pousenbsp;... We'll see that within the next very, very few years.
Pedophilia
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...
is being pursued as we speak ... Some will say down to an eight-year-old, they think it's OK."
He believed that gay people can rid themselves of homosexuality if they put their minds to it.
As a result of his comments, Spencer was stripped of his job as family issues critic by Canadian Alliance leader
Stephen Harper on November 27, 2003. He also temporarily removed himself from the party's caucus, and apologized "completely and without reservation" for his remarks.
He has written a book, ''
Sacrificed: Truth or Politics'' telling of his experience as an MP and how he was treated by the Canadian Alliance and the Canadian press.
References
Gay acts should be illegal: Alliance MPby Peter O'Neil
Vancouver SunParty must include social conservatives: Harperfrom the Canadian Press, November 27, 2003.
from globalgenealogy.com.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Larry
1942 births
Living people
Canadian Alliance MPs
Canadian clergy
Canadian people of English descent
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan
American emigrants to Canada
People from Stockton, Missouri
21st-century Canadian politicians