Republican candidate Susanne Atanus, who is running for the seat of the 9th District of Illinois, stood firm in her religious views during an interview and stated how God is in a fit of rage with the nation that has turned away from moral views, particulary with the tolerance of homosexuality and abortions.
During a question-and-answer session with the Daily Herald, Atanus stated her views on religion, morals, the economy and the middle class. If elected to the 9th District seat, Atanus stated that she wanted to make major improvements to the dwindling economy. However, her religious views and her idea of God's wrath made headlines when she explained why some problems have encompassed the nation.
"I am a conservative Republican and I believe in God first," said Atanus during her interview with the Daily Herald. "God is angry. We are provoking Him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions. Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it's in our military it will weaken our military. We need to respect God."
Atanus's remarks further elaborted that diseases, illnesses and even natural disasters are all a result of the same-sex marriage and abortions that have become more common. The interview stated that Atanus "believes God controls the weather and has put tornadoes and diseases such as autism and dementia on earth as punishment for gay rights and legalized abortions."
During the interview, Atanus was joined by another Republican hopeful, David Earl Williams III, who considers himself a Conservative like Atanus, but with a more different view. The former U.S. Navy officer who worked alongside Ron Paul in 2012, labeled himself as "pro-life, but said [decisions] should be between a woman and her doctor without government involvement." Williams also took slight offense to Atanus's remarks of homosexuals in the military, since he claimed to know many gay men during his service.
The 55-year-old Conservative has already run unsuccessfully for the seat of Illinois's 9th District twice in 2010 and 2012. Atanus plans to implement her core beliefs into the government if elected. Aside from her religious beliefs, Atanus hopes to reconstruct the main issue in her agenda, which is the economy. "I'm upset with us having no economy for the 99 percent," Atanus said. "The middle class has been robbed."
Atanus is a member of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East and her religion is labeled as Catholicism. The remarks made by Atanus have not triggered a response from Autism activists or the gay community.
