A coalition of LGBT groups, including the North Carolina-based Faith in America, have teamed up on a petition drive that asks the Southern Baptist Convention to apologize for the harm they’ve caused LGBT youth and people of faith.
The groups’ press release below…
Coalition Launches Petition Demands Apology From Southern Baptist Convention Its Mistreatment of LGBT Persons
Petition to be Hand-Delivered at SBC’s Annual Meeting in PhoenixPHOENIX, AZ – A new coalition announced that it was starting a petition today on the GetEQUAL website (www.getequal.org), calling on the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to apologize for the harm its teachings are causing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Pointing to current teachings and ministries of the SBC, the coalition is attempting to shed light on harmful teachings and actions that individual congregations, pastors, and SBC leadership have embraced, targeting the LGBT community — particularly LGBT youth. These words and actions include everything from counseling parents to kick gay youth out of their homes to the horrifying practices of its “ex-gay” program. In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention is one of the nation’s leading promoters of the so-called “ex-gay” industry, currently being profiled by CNN as part of a three-part series called “The Sissy Boy Experiment.”
The Southern Baptist Convention will be meeting next week in Phoenix for their annual convention, and petition signatures will be delivered there.
“We call on the Southern Baptist Convention to stop misusing the Bible to promote religion-based bigotry and start recognizing the enormous pain and suffering caused by its mistreatment of LGBT people, particularly vulnerable youth,” said Dr. Jack McKinney, a former Southern Baptist minister and spokesperson for Faith in America. “History has not been kind to the Southern Baptist Convention’s record on minorities, and it is making the same awful mistake today by perpetuating abuse against gay people.”
“The anti-gay teachings of the Southern Baptist church nearly led me to suicide,” said Dr. Jerry Stephenson, a former Southern Baptist minister and board member for Truth Wins Out. “I entered an ‘ex-gay’ ministry that falsely claimed I could change my sexual orientation and this led to a deep depression. Only after I accepted my true self was I able to reconcile my faith and sexual orientation. The Southern Baptist Convention needs to apologize because its policies are hurting real people.”
This petition drive is being organized by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, Believe OutLoud, Faith in America, GetEQUAL, Soulforce and Truth Wins Out.
“Given the arc of justice and the trajectory of history, there is no doubt the SBC will offer a full-fledged apology to the LGBT community in the future,” reads a letter that petition signers will send to SBC’s leadership. “We ask the Southern Baptist Convention to prayerfully consider whether the motive behind the mistreatment and harm toward LGBT individuals, especially youth, is born of political gain and agendas rather the spirit of Christ.”
“The time for this discrimination — especially the insidious bigotry that has been wrapped in the cloak of faith — to end. It’s time for religious entities like the Southern Baptist Convention to apologize for the immense harm they’ve done to our community, and to stop providing cover for politicians to disguise their political bigotry as courageous,” said Robin McGehee, executive director of GetEQUAL. “Stop it now, apologize now, and let us all move forward together.”
Further details about the petition delivery next week in Phoenix will be available in the next few days.
GetEQUAL is a national, direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. Emphasizing direct action and people power, the mission of GetEQUAL is to empower the LGBT community and its allies to take action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information on GetEQUAL, please visit: http://www.getequal.org. You can follow GetEQUAL on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/getequal, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GetEQUAL, or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/getequal.
Faith In America was formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization in 2005 to effectively counter-message the bigotry, prejudice and hostility toward the LGBT community being sold to the public for several decades under the guise of religious belief and religious teaching.
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-gay religious extremism. TWO monitors anti-LGBT organizations, documents their lies and exposes their leaders as charlatans. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality. TWO’s goal is to create a world where LGBT individuals can live openly, honestly and true to themselves.
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FAT chance. While Dr Mohler, head of the southern baptist convention recently said that gay marriage or something similar is coming, and they have to figure out how to deal with it”
Huckabee said at the Renewing god in America conference in the south “….get them to pray at the point of a gun.
BTw, lots of these people also fit the mold of the NRA , who believe “you can never have enough guns”
the whole bis is driven on paranoia, and explains part of why they need someone to hate.
to Hell with the radical homosexuals
I am not sure why everybody should be expected to endorse anal and oral sex.
The intolerance of tolerance.
Thanks to the Hell that Rick H consigns us to …I have learned to shoot back at the kreestianists. They did not like it much when they stole lumber from my own stock and tried to light a cross and my home with 5 adults and one baby less than a year old. How long can you hold your breath in a burning house Dick? That lot was ‘unlucky and unloved by Gawd, I guess. The cross failed to light.. my 12g pump did not….
If you want radical….my family goes back to 1700. We have fought every war for freedom since. Do you really want to have this fight? Im a vet so is my homoseksul partner. We volunteered..we learned valuable life lessons..like not wasting ammo nor wasting time on being nice to monsters.
One more point the Tali-babptists have been wrong before..remember African Americans held in Slavery? Yea they endorsed that too.Rick learn the real history not the faux noise ..sad sad the Rs whine about public education costing $, but take every chance to gut it so they can push indoctrination at their religulous skools and homo skooling.. many ya’ll got to find a different hobby because us fags ain’t gonna sit and wait for you to show up in like forever..I was taught to hunt and stalk too.
I like Hillbilly!
Rick H. If you had the brains of a fleck of shit you’d realize no one wants you to “endorse anal and oral sex.” What you do in your bedroom is your between you and the goat. What gays and lesbians want is equality with your God dogma squeezing the life out of us!
“without”
[catch this one – saw it while netting! Trish]
A TRANSGENDER SPIN-OFF
I’m a little kid and I feel that inside of me there is a real adult.
Yes, I have what you could say is an “adult identity.” I know I was born an adult because I never did choose to be an adult.
Since I’m really, really an adult deep down inside, why is it I’m not allowed to go to “adult only” places and act like adults?
I mean, kids in Palestine can carry adult guns. Kids in other Muslim places can cut off heads in videos. And kids in San Francisco can watch gays having sex in public, so why can’t “adult” kids like me act like those adults?
If a man can be the “woman” inside of him, and if a woman can be the “man” she says is inside of her, I demand to live out the “adult identity” that I know is really, really inside of me!
Since a cat may think he’s the “mouse” inside of him, and since our “Christian” President can be the “Muslim” inside of him, I demand the right to be the transbeing adult that was inside of me even before I was born!
signed, Charlie (I mean – Mr. Brown)
Dear Trish,
Transgendered people who are adults can make adult decisions.
How about trying to walk even a foot in someone else’s shoes rather than spending your time coming up with ridiculous analogies.