Wonkette

Sadly, I was equally excited when I saw that the Washington Post had obtained the late Jerry Falwell’s FBI file. But, they couldn’t find any evidence of him being gay, closeted or otherwise [Ed: cue collective sigh of disappointment]. But, he did get death threats, and those are after the jump.

Now, who would have thought that the good Doctor Reverence Falwell would inspire hatred in people? Could it be that he saw fit to occasionally say shit like “Please remember, homosexuals do not reproduce! They recruit! And, many of them are after my children and your children,” and “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals. It is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.” Yeah, that might be it.

Ah, memories. Well, back in the early eighties when he was just starting to build up a full mouth of foam about homosexuals and AIDS, somebody called into his “Old Time Gospel Hour” and mentioned that there was a price on his head, according to the FBI file (below).

That was a lot of money back in 1983, right? Anyways, so the G-men sprung into action, interviewing sources in the Cincinnati area (which were likely just the friends of someone’s younger, fun administrative assistant). Please attribute your own eye rolls to the source below, as I did.

Plus, what gay person in Cincinnati in 1983 had an extra $10,000 to spend to off the blowhard? Nonetheless, the FBI continued with their “investigation,” which apparently encompassed asking the only gay men they knew of to tell them stuff. The result? They got a 1983 version of the Washington Blade, the Cincinnati Yellow Page.

So, the FBI needed a gay man to tell them where the gay bars were in Cincinnati. Let’s hope the terrorists don’t get wise on where to hide!

In the end, though, gay (and many, many straight) people disliked Jerry Falwell for being an uptight gay-bashing hate-spewing vile man, but they probably never tried to kill him. Like everyone else, they just waited until he choked on his own bile and died.

Exclusive: Jerry Falwell’s FBI File [Washington Post]
Falwell FBI file excerpts [Washington Post]
The Legacy of Falwell’s Bully Pulpit [Washington Post]