19 Kids and Controversy! The Duggars Stir Debate in Kissing Challenge by Reportedly Deleting Pics of Gay Couples

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, stars of the TLC show “19 Kids and Counting,” issued a kissing challenge on their Facebook page, but caused controversy when they reportedly deleted pics of same-sex couples sharing a kiss.

The challenge arose from criticism over a pic of Jessa sharing her first kiss with husband Ben Seewald, which some deemed inappropriate.

In response, Jim Bob and Michelle recreated their own kissing pic, which they then posted to the family's "official" Facebook page along with a call to action.

They wrote, "God designed marriage to be a loving, dynamic relationship between a husband and wife for a lifetime. God loves marriage and it is supposed to be full of love, joy, fun, and romance. Marriage is where romance belongs!... We challenge all married couples to take a happily married picture and post it here."

The post received many comments and pics, but according to John Becker, the photo he shared with his husband of nine years was deleted.

Becker wrote on his LGBTQ blog, The Bilerico Project, and his Facebook page, "Oh no, I think I've been banned from the Duggar Family Official Facebook page! (I'm crying into my coffee cup right now, I assure you.) I posted this photo of Michael and me with the following comment: 'Happily married for nearly nine years; working hard for #MarriageEquality for all loving couples.'"

He continued, "It was getting lots of likes, but the Duggars must not have liked it very much -- they pulled it down and blocked me from posting, liking, or commenting on the page altogether. How sad that they feel so threatened by other loving marriages."