Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Abomination (2003)

Mariska Hargitay: Detective Olivia Benson

Quotes 

• [the detectives are investigating the murder of a gay man - they have in custody a reverend who was protesting at his funeral] 

  Det. Elliot Stabler : [reading his file]  Reverend Mitchell Shaw... you really get around. Protesting in Vermont, at the Supreme Court... cheering at the funeral of a six-year-old who died of AIDS.

  Det. Olivia Benson : Maybe you should switch to a career in publicity.

  Rev. Mitchell Shaw : The Lord asked me to do his work.

  Det. Elliot Stabler : Did he ask you to ignore all that, uh... "Love thy neighbor" stuff?

  Rev. Mitchell Shaw : "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, "both of them have committed an abomination. "They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them." Leviticus.

  Det. Elliot Stabler : The Bible also says I can sell my daughters into slavery and be put to death if I work on a Sundays. 12 years of Catholic school. Anyone can memorize words, Reverend. Doesn't make 'em righteous.

  Rev. Mitchell Shaw : The city is full of sodomites, and you waste your time protecting them... and yet you wonder why so many of your NYPD brothers were struck down on September 11th. Do you not see the Lord's judgment upon you?

  [Elliot shoves away the table and gets right in Shaw's face] 

  Det. Elliot Stabler : I see a scared, shriveled-up piece of trash who uses God to justify his bigotry.

• Det. Elliot Stabler : I don't know, I guess some people just choose to be gay and others choose to be straight.

  Det. Olivia Benson : So you chose to be heterosexual?

  Det. Elliot Stabler : Me? No.