Gay Community Still Wary Of Obama
This story was written by Carrie Budoff Brown.
Sen. Barack Obama didn't have to issue the challenge about homophobia in the African-American community - not in one of the nation's premier black churches, not on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday - but he did it anyway.
"If we are honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community," Obama told 2,000 worshippers Sunday at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King once preached. "We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them."
The statement drew polite applause from the congregation, but it roared across the gay blogosphere, earning almost universal praise from a constituency that doesn't always feel supported by presidential candidates.
Yet the goodwill - at least among some in the gay community - evaporated quickly.
At the same time as Obama's Sunday speech, gay bloggers were digging into the background of the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a spiritual adviser to President Bush who endorsed Obama a day earlier. They turned up a page on his Houston church Web site promoting a ministry to cure homosexuals, sparking outrage among the same bloggers who were extolling him only a few hours earlier.
The twin developments appeared to encapsulate the tension inherent in Obama's embrace of what he calls a new style of politics, his belief in forging alliances even with those who hold fundamentally different views.
In this case, he has spoken out against homophobia in front of black audiences while embracing some black religious leaders who are resistant to gay rights.
"People are confused," said Wayne Besen, a gay activist and founder of Truth Wins Out, a New York organization aimed at countering the "ex-gay" movement. "We see one report of him saying powerful words. Then he is hanging out with some shady characters. People don't know what to make of that."
By Monday, Caldwell's church, Windsor Village United Methodist in Houston, scrubbed its Web site of any reference to the gay conversion program, Metanoia Ministry.
In a Politico interview Tuesday, Caldwell said his 14,000-member church - one of the largest United Methodist congregations in the country - is not affiliated with Metanoia.
"I got to tell you, this is going to sound real stupid, but I didn't know it was on our website," Caldwell said. "I was surprised and embarrassed by it. I'm embarrassed from the standpoint that I should have known. We have 120 ministries at the church. You can't be on top of everything."
When asked if he opposed such programs, Caldwell said: "It's not a ministry of the church. It is not supported financially by the church. It is not located at the church. That is pretty much where I am with it."
Caldwell issued a similar statement Monday to John Aravosis at Americablog, a a popular liberal website.
But blogosphere skepticism has persisted, in part because of this connection: Barbara Hicks, a church staff member and treasurer of the church's Prayer Institute, is listed as the contact for Metanoia Ministry. She uses a church phone number and email address.
"That is my ministry," Hicks said Tuesday when reached at her church office.
She directed further questions to Caldwell, who said Hicks "does it on her own."
The controversy started Saturday when Caldwell told Texas reporters that he was personally backing Obama for his "character, confidence and courage." He said he would campaign for the Illinois senator, who might even appear at the church.
But two days later, the Obama campaign, which did not participate in the endorsement, appeared to back away from Caldwell.
The campaign told Americablog on Monday that Caldwell has not - and will not - be asked to do anything for the campaign. In a statement posted on the blog, Caldwell said neither Obama nor his staff "knew of this outside ministry, nor have they expressed any agreement with my church's belief on gay rights."
"Bottom line: Obama gets some major chits for what he did yesterday morning, and with that in mind, I think on this one we can give him a pass," Aravosis wrote Monday.
Aravosis was highly critical of Obama in October for appearing with Donnie McClurkin, a gospel singer who considers himself an "ex-gay" and has called homosexuality a "curse." Obama and McClurkin traveled South Carolina as part of a gospel tour aimed at religious African Americans.
Besen, who was also vocal during the McClurkin controversy, said Obama "deserves a lot of credit" for his speech, but was not as forgiving about Caldwell.
"It matters who you are endorsed by because these are the people who are going to be calling in favors," Besen said. "The gay and lesbian community has the right to be disturbed when such individuals are standing up beside Obama."
For his part, Caldwell said he is a "believer in everybody having access to all rights and privileges."
When asked if that meant he supported civil unions and gay marriage, Caldwell said: "I would need to check with the church."
The Politico Sen. Barack Obama didn't have to issue the challenge about homophobia in the African-American community - not in one of the nation's premier black churches, not on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday - but he did it anyway.
"If we are honest with ourselves, we'll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King's vision of a beloved community," Obama told 2,000 worshippers Sunday at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King once preached. "We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them."
The statement drew polite applause from the congregation, but it roared across the gay blogosphere, earning almost universal praise from a constituency that doesn't always feel supported by presidential candidates.
Yet the goodwill - at least among some in the gay community - evaporated quickly.
At the same time as Obama's Sunday speech, gay bloggers were digging into the background of the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a spiritual adviser to President Bush who endorsed Obama a day earlier. They turned up a page on his Houston church Web site promoting a ministry to cure homosexuals, sparking outrage among the same bloggers who were extolling him only a few hours earlier.
The twin developments appeared to encapsulate the tension inherent in Obama's embrace of what he calls a new style of politics, his belief in forging alliances even with those who hold fundamentally different views.
In this case, he has spoken out against homophobia in front of black audiences while embracing some black religious leaders who are resistant to gay rights.
"People are confused," said Wayne Besen, a gay activist and founder of Truth Wins Out, a New York organization aimed at countering the "ex-gay" movement. "We see one report of him saying powerful words. Then he is hanging out with some shady characters. People don't know what to make of that."
By Monday, Caldwell's church, Windsor Village United Methodist in Houston, scrubbed its Web site of any reference to the gay conversion program, Metanoia Ministry.
In a Politico interview Tuesday, Caldwell said his 14,000-member church - one of the largest United Methodist congregations in the country - is not affiliated with Metanoia.
"I got to tell you, this is going to sound real stupid, but I didn't know it was on our website," Caldwell said. "I was surprised and embarrassed by it. I'm embarrassed from the standpoint that I should have known. We have 120 ministries at the church. You can't be on top of everything."
When asked if he opposed such programs, Caldwell said: "It's not a ministry of the church. It is not supported financially by the church. It is not located at the church. That is pretty much where I am with it."
Caldwell issued a similar statement Monday to John Aravosis at Americablog, a a popular liberal website.
But blogosphere skepticism has persisted, in part because of this connection: Barbara Hicks, a church staff member and treasurer of the church's Prayer Institute, is listed as the contact for Metanoia Ministry. She uses a church phone number and email address.
"That is my ministry," Hicks said Tuesday when reached at her church office.
She directed further questions to Caldwell, who said Hicks "does it on her own."
The controversy started Saturday when Caldwell told Texas reporters that he was personally backing Obama for his "character, confidence and courage." He said he would campaign for the Illinois senator, who might even appear at the church.
But two days later, the Obama campaign, which did not participate in the endorsement, appeared to back away from Caldwell.
The campaign told Americablog on Monday that Caldwell has not - and will not - be asked to do anything for the campaign. In a statement posted on the blog, Caldwell said neither Obama nor his staff "knew of this outside ministry, nor have they expressed any agreement with my church's belief on gay rights."
"Bottom line: Obama gets some major chits for what he did yesterday morning, and with that in mind, I think on this one we can give him a pass," Aravosis wrote Monday.
Aravosis was highly critical of Obama in October for appearing with Donnie McClurkin, a gospel singer who considers himself an "ex-gay" and has called homosexuality a "curse." Obama and McClurkin traveled South Carolina as part of a gospel tour aimed at religious African Americans.
Besen, who was also vocal during the McClurkin controversy, said Obama "deserves a lot of credit" for his speech, but was not as forgiving about Caldwell.
"It matters who you are endorsed by because these are the people who are going to be calling in favors," Besen said. "The gay and lesbian community has the right to be disturbed when such individuals are standing up beside Obama."
For his part, Caldwell said he is a "believer in everybody having access to all rights and privileges."
When asked if that meant he supported civil unions and gay marriage, Caldwell said: "I would need to check with the church."
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Posted by singinrick at 11:59 PM : Jan 25, 2008
No Rick, I only hate people like yourself who lie and distort the facts because you are so threatened by the very possibility that being gay is as natural as being left-handed. That idea so threatens the foundation of your entire belief system that rather than reconsider that belief system you turn into a pathological liar. There is no proven correlation between being gay and being a murderer, and yet you promote that lie every opportunity you have. Why is that Rick? Actually, the fact that *** work, pay taxes, and are then denied equal rights by the likes of cowards like you makes is surprising that more gay_s don''t take up arms and go after hateful and cowardly bigots like you. I guess there is something about being gay that just makes you morally superior to a coward.
Learn the facts.
Posted by singinrick at 11:57 PM : Jan 25, 2008
Silly, Rick, there you go again. If it were a choice, you wouldn''t have gay teens committing suicide because of the hateful environment for gay_s that people like you promote. They''d simply choose not to be gay if it were that easy. Furthermore, Rick, unless you yourself are gay, you have absolutely no idea as to whether it is a choice or not, so the best you can say on that topic is that you don''t know and are merely speculating. The fact that you''ve used the fires of hell to scare a very small minority of very troubled individuals (troubled thanks to liars like yourself who equate gay with murdering and pedophilia) proves nothing at all. That''s like saying Michael Jackson is proof that being black is a choice. But keep the hate and lies comin, rick, it just proves my point.
Posted by singinrick at 12:00 AM : Jan 26, 2008
Rick, you''re bearing false witness again. The Ten Commandments say nothing about being ga_y, but they do forbid you from bearing false witness against your neighbor, so I fear there is a special place in hell for you.
Name one way that I am trying to "ram" my lifestyle down your throat. You can''t. You, on the other hand, are denying me the same rights that you enjoy as a heterosexual. No, Rick, it is you who are trying to "ram" your un-christian values down my throat. Remeber, Rick, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." You see, you talk about Christianity, but I live more like a Christian than you do. I would never push an agenda aimed at denying heterosexuals equal protection under the law, but you''ve devoted your life to it, it seems. You are evil and unfair to the core, plain and simple.
Oh, and for every gay murderer or pedophile you can name, I can name about a thousand straight ones, but that''s not the point. You couldn''t construct a logical argument against gay_s to save your life, so instead you resort to mudslinging. I, like most gay_s, have never murdered anyone nor ever molested a child, so you have no justification for denying me my civil rights -- you are a hateful bigot, pure and simple.
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And guess what, us CHRISTIANS Have just as much of a right to speak out as does everyone else.
The minute that right is taken away from us, is the minute our Constitution goes to the shredder.
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Posted by singinrick at 12:20 AM : Jan 26, 2008
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No one said that you can''t voice your disapproval. As a Christian, you probably don''t approve of alchohol either, but would you deny people social security benefits because they had wine with dinner, or because they were of a different faith than you. Approving of something is one thing, but to try to deny people and their families protections, through legislation, because you don''t approve of them is another.
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LMAO. What a joke. I would be embarassed to quote this quack, which has nothing to do with the argument at hand, which is equal benefits for gay families. This is a financial issue. Has nothing to do with "forcing" any lifestyle down anybody''s throat. (no pun intended) I am 62 years old and no one has ever in my life tried to force me to be gay.
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Posted by croft777
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I think people are confusing marriage in the case of same s e x couples and marriage as people view it religiously. Marriage as viewed by the state is a legal contract that confers certain benefits, such as tax structure, how social security is handles, property, end of life issues, etc. Many thousands of heterosexual couples get married outside of church because they choose not to have a religious ceremony. No one is going to force a church to marry anyone they don''t want to.
G a y couples just want the same protections for their families that other couples have.