Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to "convert" gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.
"You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.
About the photo: Sarah Palin and the Good Ole Boys.
Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.
Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the "Love Won Out" Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.
Palin, campaigning with McCain in the Midwest on Friday, has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called "pray away the gay" movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin's church, was not available to discuss the matter Friday, said a church worker who declined to give her name.
Gay activists in Alaska said Palin has not worked actively against their interests, but early in her administration she supported a bill to overrule a court decision to block state benefits for gay partners of public employees. At the time, less than one-half of 1 percent of state employees had applied for the benefits, which were ordered by a 2005 ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.
Palin reversed her position and vetoed the bill after the state attorney general said it was unconstitutional. But her reluctant support didn't win fans among Alaska's gay population, said Scott Turner, a gay activist in Anchorage.
"Less than 1 percent of state employees would even apply for benefits, so why make a big deal out of such a small number?" he said.
"I think gay Republicans are going to run away" if Palin supports efforts like the prayers to convert gays, said Wayne Besen, founder of the New York-based Truth Wins Out, a gay rights advocacy group. Besen called on Palin to publicly express her views now that she's a vice presidential nominee.
"People are looking at Sarah Palin as someone who might feasibly be in the White House," he said.
Source: AP story via San Francisco Chronicle
Fight Annie Oakley Palin and Grandpa McCain!
Resources:
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Obama-Biden Campaign Headquarters
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No on Prop 8 Campaign
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Human Rights Campaign
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Equality California
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National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
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LGBT Community of the Democratic Party
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ObamaPride, the LGBT Community of the Obama-Biden Campaign
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LGBT for Obama
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2 comments:
Don't you think that headline is more than a little bit misleading?
You entitled this article, "Palin's Church Plans to Attack Gay and Lesbian Americans." But when I read the article I learned that all Palin's church is encouraging its members to do is... PRAY FOR them.
Now, come on, be serious. Praying for someone is not attacking them. Palin's church is supportive of Focus on the Family's plan to PRAY FOR gay and lesbian Americans. And that is a problem how? Who does that hurt? Who does it threaten?
Praying for someone is not attacking them. It is a kindness. Even if you don't believe in the efficacy of prayer, it is still intended as a kindness.
(BTW, Focus on the Family is not "fundamentalist," either. They are simply Christian.)
Dave
BTW, Dave, you are right that Focus on the Family is not fundamental to anything, except perhaps, to those who oppose human rights. Focus on the Family supports and preaches fear, discord, separation, division and hate. They are fundamental to the causes being put forth by such diverse groups as the Chinese Communist Party, the Roman Catholic Church and the country of Iran. They all seek to deny human rights.
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James Dobson, the pathetic hate monger who created the Focus on the Family monster, intended it to be fundamental only to those in our nation who fear science and education, those who harbor deep-rooted hate for people of color and people who are not "the same" as they.
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James Dobson is a little man. I am not referring to his stature, but to his mind and heart. He is small and little human being and his followers are sad and pathetic.
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