VIDEO: Rev. Phil Snider's gay rights speech a viral hit; Missouri pastor 'heartened' by support

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri pastor says response garnered by video of a speech he gave about gay rights has been a whirlwind.

In the comments to the Springfield City Council in late August, The Rev. Phil Snider appeared initially to oppose a Springfield ordinance that would have made it illegal for businesses and landlords to discriminate against gay, lesbian or transgender employees, customers and tenants.

The Springfield News-Leader reported that Snider then told the council he was actually reading quotes from white preachers who supported racial segregation decades ago. He said he'd only replaced the phrase `racial integration' with the phrase `gay rights."'

Snider urged the council to support the ordinance. The council later tabled the ordinance so a task force can review it.

The below YouTube video of the comments has gone viral, garnering about 2.5 million online views by Tuesday morning (Mobile Users: To view the video, visit: http://youtu.be/A8JsRx2lois ).

“The last few hours have been a bit of a whirlwind for me, to say the least,” Snider wrote Monday in a post on his blog. “I’m really heartened by all of the emails, Facebook messages, and kind words that I’ve received.”

Snider wrote that he has received responses on both sides of the issue, and appreciates them all.

He said he also wanted to make clear he understood the differences between the discrimination faced during segregation and more currently during the debate about gay rights.