As I was driving toward today’s vigil to protest the “Love Won Out” anti-gay conference being held in Silver Spring, Maryland, I wondered what kind of turnout I would find. After all, it was not quite 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning, a great time to sleep in and recover from the week just ended.
I was thrilled to see dozens of colorful signs lining both sides of the road in front of Immanuel’s Church as I pulled up. Some of them said:
“Another Marylander Against Demonizing Gay Americans”
“Love Welcomes All”
“Reparative Therapy is Neither”
“Homosexuality Is Not a Disorder”
“Focus on Fairness”
“Straight, But Not Narrow” (obviously a personal favorite)
By the time the press conference began around 9:30 AM, well over 100 people had gathered to support fairness and equality and condemn the practice of trying to “change” homosexuals promoted by the conference ready to begin only a few yards away.
Dan Furmansky, the director of Equality Maryland, opened with a few comments and introduced each speaker. At one point, he said “James Dobson, (the conference was sponsored by his Focus on the Family organization) you are not welcome in Maryland! Go back to Colorado!” I would agree with that except I don’t have anything against the GLBT population of Colorado.
One of the speakers was Harry Knox, the Director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program. Knox is a former pastor of a United Methodist Church in Georgia. He was also the Executive Director of Equality Georgia and program director of Freedom to Marry. Knox told the crowd and cameras (two local television stations shot footage), “God made me gay and called me good.”
A representative of National Black Justice Coalition (I did not catch her name) added that the group across the street was representative of a “cult of the annihilation of the authentic self.”
Maryland State Delegate Gareth Murray, who represents the district where the conference was being held, pointed out “Today it’s the gay community. What community are we going after next?” Murray sharply condemned the purpose of the conference, speaking from his background as a minister and a mental health professional.
Dr. Stephen Eckstrand, a member of the local PFLAG chapter, spoke about his two children; a lesbian daughter and a left-handed son. He pointed out that, “until the latter half of the twentieth century, people considered left handed individuals to be unlucky, clumsy, and even abnormal.” Fortunately society has moved beyond that, and Dr. Eckstrand expressed his hope that society would also grow past its failure to love and accept gays and lesbians.
I also had the pleasure of meeting writer and activist Wayne Besen, author of the book “Anything But Straight.” Besen just this past week announced the formation of the organization “Truth Wins Out and was there to support the vigil. Like his book, Truth Wins Out is dedicated to refuting the lies groups like Focus on the Family propagate to wrongly influence people. Besen wrote a piece earlier this week about the conference where he said, “Unfortunately, it will be a bastion of misinformation that flies in the face of modern psychology and presents a distorted picture of gay life filled with stereotypes in the guise of science.”
The final word is this post goes to Dr. Lise Van Susteren, whom I also ran into at Equality Maryland’s Lobby Day back in February at the state capitol in Annapolis. Dr. Van Susteren, a forensic psychiatrist, offered this profound thought, “Religion must not be used as the fig leaf to hide prejudice.”
How about it, Dr. Dobson?
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you know, i'm glad i found this site. i used to live as a lesbian and then - over time - have slowly changed. although my position is that people can change, i also, strongly believe that people should be left alone and not demonized for being gay. so, i am in the midlle. i am christian, i am conservative, but i believe in same sex marriage (if that's what you want) gay adoption (because this world is in desperate need of good kind folks to raise children) and not imposing my faith on anyone else. my goal, like my great grandmother, is to be a charitable woman who has opened her home to those in need.
ReplyDeleteanonymous, wow, what a reasonable way of looking at things. When you frame the issue in light of your own experience, knowing that it does not apply to all, it helps me to hear you.
ReplyDeleteI actually know a man who used to be involved in same-sex romantic and sexual relationships but now say he is happy in a heterosexual partnership. Whether it is because he is bisexual, never was gay to begin with or experienced actual change, I do not know, but it is his story and I respect him (I was even the best man in his wedding)
The key is to share our story without imposing it on others and their life stories. In so doing, we can begin to hear each other and find the truth for ourselves.
I agree with both of you... anonymous and Peterson... I also hold the belief that homosexuality spans the entire spectrum... from being a hard-wired orientation that is not changeable in some people... to being completely fluid in other people. I wish everyone was secure enough within their own truth that they didn't feel a need to allow their version of truth to make other people miserable. Then... we wish for a lot of things :)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have been at this protest & conference to lend support, but alas... distance sucks :(. Thank you Jim for posting on this subject and sharing your experience, it was heartwarming :).
Opinions don't count. God created humans and God created sex. Let's consider God's position on this matter. A cursory review of scripture shows that sex is intended to be a beautiful wonderful thing within monogamous heterosexual marriage, and sex outside those boundaries resuts in dire consequences. The message is abundantly clear: Adam and Eve are the model for marriage... Male and female he created them... Flee sexual immorality... Thou shalt not commit adultery... just to name a few. We vigorously defend our right to stay stuck in bondage to sin, because that is all we know and we are comfortable in our dysfunction ... but deep down we know there is something better. The message of hope in Jesus Christ is that we ALL - male and female, gay and straight - can acknowledge past hurts and leave behind unhealthy habits and hangups and find true freedom, joy and peace. For more on this, see http://www.pureintimacy.org/gr/homosexuality/
ReplyDelete"A cursory review of scripture shows..."
ReplyDeleteFrom Adam we learn that there is not need for a marriage.
From Seth we learn that procreation with your sisters is OK.
From Abraham we learn that a man can marry his sister.
From Lot's daughters we learn that if you don't have a man and you want a child, you can always just get your father drunk and have sex with him.
From Jacob we learn that a wife can be purchased by seven years of labor. We also learn that it is acceptable to deceive a groom into marrying the wrong woman. And also that having two sisters as wives is a blessing.
From Ruth we learn that a woman belongs to her husband's family even after his death. We also learn that premarital seduction is honorable.
From Onan we learn that a man is obligated to impregnate his brother's widow. We also learn that when having sex with your sister-in-law, you are not supposed to pull out before ejaculating (it's wicked in God's sight).
From David we learn that marriage (to one of your several wives) is for establishing connection into the royal family.
From Solomon we learn that a man can have as many wives as he can afford - along with twice as many concubines.
Even Paul tells us some very interesting things about marriage: It's better never to marry (unless you can't control your passions). And if do have a spouse and they are not a believer, then if s/he leaves you, let them go.
Yes, there is so much we can learn from Scripture, Every Man. And one clear lesson is that very few of the heroes of the Bible had a "monogamous heterosexual marriage" in the sense that you mean it. Your idea of marriage may be "traditional" but it sure isn't Biblical.
Timothy Kincaid
Thanks Timothy, that was almost too true to be amusing. Interesting that people still try to pick and choose what they want out of the literalistic Old Testament buffet while completely ignoring the parts that they find less savory.
ReplyDelete