Gay In Augusta

I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw this interview with Reverend Joseph Lowery on WRDW News 12 in Augusta. Reverend Lowery will give the benediction at the inauguration next week, and sat down with him to discuss some of his history with the civil rights movement as well as the inauguration next week.  When the interviewer brought up the Rick Warren issue, he had this to say:

“I think it’s disgusting some of the profane things he has said about gay people…equating homosexuality with pedophilia,” said Rev. Lowery. “I condemn that kind of demeaning of gay people. I think that all God’s children got shoes, and I think it’s beneath Brother Warren’s status as a Christian pastor to demean people with that kind of profane language.”

Very well said. I, for one, can’t wait to hear a little more from Reverend Lowery next Tuesday.

To watch the (short) interview, go to http://www.wrdw.com/politics/headlines/37739369.html

via SmartBrief.com and music.gay.com

Despite asking Rick Warren to give the invocation at next Tuesday’s inauguration, Obama is making the day look a little brighter for the gay community. First, the invocation for the first inaugural event on Sunday will be given by out Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. Obama has also named out appointee Nancy Sutley to a key environmental post and will include a lesbian couple in a pre-inaugural train trip. To top it off, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will perform at Sunday’s event at the Lincoln Memorial.

Oh wait…there’s one more… for the first time in American history, openly gay musicians and performers, from Lesbian and Gay Band Association, will march in an inauguration parade.

Sounds like it’s shaping up to be an pretty gay week.

What other events will be happening next week for the inauguration?

From The Augusta Chronicle:

Members of North Augusta’s St. John’s Episcopal Church severed ties with the national congregation Sunday, rejecting a shift toward a more progressive theology that has led to the blessing of same-sex marriages and gay leaders in the church.

While it’s not surprising to me, it’s still sad and unfortunate.

Read the full article at http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/01/05/met_506567.shtml

The recent murder at a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville was truly shocking to me. Truly shocking, but not surprising. After all, I do occasionally force myself to watch Bill O’ or another drone who spits out hateful, horrible untruths that I honestly think no none could take seriously. Unfortunately, some of their listeners not only believe what they say, but believe they should act on it. In a letter found in his car, the shooter described his hatred for gays and liberals and how he believed all liberals should be killed for ruining the country. Where did he get those insane ideas from? O’Reilly, Hannity, Coulter, Robertson, and Savage are on the short list.

In case you have any doubts, here’s the best exposé of right wing hate speech I’ve found to date.