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Governor Kathy Hochul walked into a Black Christian church and apparently decided the congregation needed a lecture about liquor, lottery tickets and taking care of their children.

Think about the presumption behind that.

You are standing inside a CHRISTIAN CHURCH, looking at… pic.twitter.com/iiVndu43EY

— A Gene Robinson (@AlBuffalo2nite) September 1, 2026

Governor Kathy Hochul walked into a Black Christian church and apparently decided the congregation needed a lecture about liquor, lottery tickets and taking care of their children.

Think about the presumption behind that.

You are standing inside a CHRISTIAN CHURCH, looking at Black Christians who came to worship God, and your mind somehow arrives at liquor stores and lottery tickets.

Why?

Why was THAT the association?

Why speak to grown Black men and women as though they needed the governor to remind them to provide for their own children?

Then watch how carefully politicians behave when courting Muslim communities.

Suddenly the religious symbolism is embraced. The clothing is donned. The gestures become deferential. Nobody needs a lecture about their supposed moral deficiencies.

That contrast is what bothers me.

I don’t need Kathy Hochul to insult Islam.

I need her to show Christianity and Black Christians the same circumspection and respect she is apparently capable of showing everybody else.

Don’t walk into our churches and talk down to us.

Don’t look at Black Christians and immediately conjure liquor stores, lottery tickets and irresponsible parenting.

And certainly don’t expect us to applaud while you do it.

The Almighty does not require Albany’s approval.

Black Christians do not require Kathy Hochul’s supervision.

And Christianity does not become less deserving of respect merely because insulting or patronizing Christians carries considerably less political cost.

If you’re going to preach “respect” for religion, Governor, start by practicing it when you walk through the doors of a church.