US defence secretary Pete Hegseth reposts video saying gay sex should be banned

US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth has been criticised for reposting a video of Christian pastors saying gay sex should be banned and women shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

Pete Hegseth, who implemented a ban on trans people serving in the US military, reposted the CNN news segment in which Christian leaders were interviewed, and wrote on X/Twitter: “All of Christ for all of life.”

One of those interviewed was senior pastor in Moscow, Idaho, Doug Wilson, who said he wanted to see sodomy re-criminalised, and women refused the right to vote.

Fellow pastor Toby Sumpter said in his “ideal society”, the US would vote “as households”, with men generally being the ones who went into the polling booth. Jared Longshore, meanwhile, supported repealing the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

Wilson cited the bible as a reason for being against women holding leadership positions, a view which female pastor Jennifer Butler debunked.

Later in the video, CNN claimed that self-described Christian nationalistWilson did not approve of same-sex marriage, and would like to “go back to” the America of the 70s when gay sex was a felony in several states.

Hegseth, who made a short appearance in the video, faced criticism for seemingly supporting Wilson’s views. Doug Pagitt, a pastor at progressive evangelical organisation Vote Common Good, told AP that it was “very disturbing” to hear the defence secretary amplifying the comments.

In February 2025, Pete Hegseth implemented a ban on trans people signing up to serve in the US military.

The ban followed president Trump signing anexecutive orderlaying the groundwork for reinstating a ban on trans people in the military after it was repealed by then president Joe Biden in 2021.

“The department must ensure it is building ‘one force’ without sub-groups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence,” Hegseth wrote at the time. “Efforts to split our troops along lines of identity weaken our force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated.”

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