Christians who do not support the LGBT agenda in this country face persecution, evangelical leader Franklin Graham said this week.

The head of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association and the humanitarian aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, Graham spoke on the radio program, “Washington Watch,” hosted by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

“They are being forced out of business because they did not support the gay-lesbian agenda,” said Graham.

“We need not only put a spotlight on what is happening around the world, but what is happening here in this country, where Christians are being persecuted, but in a different way,” Graham said Tuesday, as The Christian Post reported. “It’s not with a gun or a sword, but they are being forced out of business because they did not support the gay-lesbian agenda.”

Graham called for protections for the religious faithful. “It’s over and over and over again across the country where Christians are being singled out, their businesses, because they won’t support the agenda of another group of people,” Graham said. “We need to protect them. We need to protect the Christians in this country and abroad.”

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In recent years Christian bakers, florists, and other business owners have found themselves embroiled in legal entanglements with LGBT-related lawsuits.

Graham was at the White House Wednesday for dinner with other faith leaders, and on Thursday, he attended the National Day of Prayer event in the Rose Garden at the White House. During the ceremony, President Trump signed an executive order to protect religious freedoms and the First Amendment rights of Americans.

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“Our country is in trouble, and the most important thing we can do is pray,” Graham wrote in a Facebook post this week related to the National Day of Prayer. ” I hope you’ll take time to pray for our country, its leaders, and thank God for this land and the freedom He has given us.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened to sue the president over the executive order, claiming it could lead to discrimination against the LGBT community.