After stating in an interview that he did not support gay rights, A&E star Phil Robertson was suspended indefinitely from the hit reality T.V. show Duck Dynasty. Though A&E does have the right to suspend someone if they feel it is necessary, A&E is wrong to suspend someone for expressing their opinion.

While deep in the woods on a hunting trip alongside a reporter of GQ magazine, the reporter asks Robertson a simple question: “what do you consider a sin?” Standing by his Christian views, Robertson replies with a list of ideas that The Bible considers a sin. These ideas include greed, idolatry, adultery and homosexuality.

Pro gay organizations such as GLAAD want society to be accepting of their views and called for Robertson to be punished. There was, however, not the slightest reaction from men or women involved from premarital sex or who are greedy calling for A&E to fire Robertson. This brings up the question: why were comments on homosexuality considered offensive while the other sins listed, which are found quite often in our society, ignored? The truth is, homosexuality is not a debate our society is willing to have. Open mindedness has become a one way street. Supporters of gay rights and organizations such as GLAAD want tolerance for their sexuality but are not willing to be tolerant of Phil’s Christianity.

In the midst of praying for a member of his church who has cancer, A&E informed Phil that he had been suspended from the show for his “hurtful” remarks. A&E stated in an interview that they “are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ.”  Were his comments really hurtful? Though blunt, his comments did not contain much more than his straight up opinion. He did not say he has hatred towards homosexuals, in fact quite the opposite. He follows up on his comments on sin stating “my mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what The Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.” It seems that A&E suspended the star duck caller not for hurtful comments but simply for not sharing the views of the network. Fans are questioning how Robertson should have handled the situation differently. Duck Dynasty is based around the real life Christian views shared by the Robertson family, so it should not come as a surprise to hear his views on the subject. People enjoy the show in large because of the show’s Christian values nearly forgotten in today’s society. That is a major reason the show draw one of the largest weekly audiences on television.

Robertson has been the victim of multiple misquotations and spotty reporting. Headlines such as “Phil Robertson compares gays to terrorists” are simply inaccurate. I encourage any reader to read the full article found on GQ’s website before calling the Louisiana Tech graduate a bigot or homophobic. Phil Robertson is far from a hateful man and was unrightfully persecuted and punished for sharing his unpopular belief.