A Christian pastor has found himself at the center of mockery after claiming that airport body scanners are capable of turning people gay — and yes, you read that correctly.
Andrew Isker, a fringe preacher from the Fourth Street Evangelical Church and host of a right-wing podcast, declared in a recent episode that he refuses to go through airport body scanners. Why? Because in his words, they emit a “gay beam.”
A New Low in Homophobic Conspiracies
Isker explained his bizarre theory while speaking with co-host C. Jay Engel, boasting that he insists on getting physically frisked by TSA agents instead of stepping into the scanner. “I’m not going through the ‘gay beam’ machine,” he said proudly. “I didn’t let C. Jay do it, I wouldn’t let him do it. You’re getting patted down too, buddy. I don’t want them turning you gay.”
Ironically, Isker admitted that having a man pat him down “on its face, seems worse.” But he stood by his commitment to avoiding the supposed rainbow radiation. “You don’t really know what those things are doing to you. They can just take a picture of me naked? Like, no.”
Let’s be clear: airport body scanners cannot turn you gay. They don’t take naked pictures either. The technology simply detects concealed objects — not your sexual orientation.
Anti-LGBTQ Rhetoric Taken to Absurd Extremes
This isn’t Isker’s first dive into homophobic hysteria. The pastor has publicly ranted about LGBTQ+ people, calling them “naturally sinful” and absurdly linking homosexuality with “financial sin.” He has accused queer people and their allies of “sacrificing babies” and labeled them “sodomites,” leaning hard into every tired stereotype from a bigot’s playbook.
During a recent appearance on the Tucker Carlson Network, Isker claimed he had to “flee” Minnesota for Tennessee because he believes his home state declared “war on Christians.”
But with this latest “gay beam” theory, Isker has entered a whole new realm of ridiculousness — turning even his conservative audience into face-palming skeptics.
Impact on the LGBTQ Community
While Isker’s claims sound laughable — and social media wasted no time roasting him — it’s a sharp reminder of the relentless misinformation LGBTQ+ people still face. Conspiracies like this fuel a dangerous culture of fear and ignorance around queer identities.
For LGBTQ+ travelers, especially trans and non-binary people, airport security is already a stressful experience filled with potential for invasive treatment. The last thing the community needs is a pastor adding sci-fi nonsense about “gay beams” to the list of challenges queer people face.
Unfortunately, Isker’s rant isn’t just another weird soundbite. It reflects a broader effort by far-right figures to dehumanize LGBTQ+ people — reducing identities to absurd conspiracies in order to dismiss and control them.
But let’s be real: if TSA scanners actually turned people gay, airports would be a whole lot more fabulous.
For now, the only thing radiating from this story is second-hand embarrassment.