Atlanta ‘mega church’ leads march against gay marriage

[CatWoman]

I've been to this church several times. A friend took me there when I first moved here. At first I fell in love with it -- it's a very, very impressive church. However, my feeling came to be that it is nothing but a racket when I learned that the church was forming a credit union in order to lend members money. In my view, the church has NO BUSINESS branching out in that arena. I've heard that they even confiscated some member's homes -- members who defaulted on the loan. Plus, the pastor looks sleazy

An upcoming Atlanta march demanding the “protection of marriage” led by a prominent African-American church drew fire Wednesday from the National Black Justice Coalition, a group supporting same-sex marriage.

“The march isn’t solely about gay marriage, but it is the driving force. Our position is people should march for better jobs, better education, better healthcare and not target marriage,” said Jasmyne Cannick, a board member and spokesperson for the Washington-based coalition.

Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia will lead marchers from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change to Turner Field, beginning at 9:45 a.m. on Dec. 11.

A spokesperson for the church could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday.

http://www.sovo.com/2004/12-10/news/localnews/mega.cfm

[RubyDuby in GA]

1. I'm not even gay, but I'll be there with my gay friends holding a sign

that says "We marched for you, now you march against us. Civil rights for everybody"

This is bullshit. I'm tempted to say he's no better than Jerry or Pat. Certainly as egotistical as them.......

[CatWoman]

3. check his bio

he looks like a charlatan

http://www.newbirth.org/bio_bishop.asp

[leftofcool]

5. Yep!

Just another fundie sleezebag out to fleece the flock.

left of cool

[RubyDuby in GA]

8. I go through Lithonia to get into downtown from where I live

They have huge billboards for this man. He has flashier clothes than some pimps I've seen (downtown and on tv).

[pfitz59]

21. They're ALL charlatans!

Every religious "leader" has one goal...to fleece his flock! EOM

[Drifter]

12. Amen ... same here.

I am not gay, but I support the right of any two individuals to be married.

My wife does not believe that Gays should marry. I think she is coming from the religious perspective. I am coming from the legal perspective, and believe that it is essential for ALL families to have access to the same benefits and protections.

Cheers
Drifter

[CatWoman]

13. I've gotten into countless arguments about this

with "christians" here at work.

My stance is who is it hurting? How does two gays getting married affect your quality of life? And what about their quality of life? I know more gay couples in committed, loving, long-lasting relationships than their hetero counterparts.

[Liberal Veteran]

17. When two gays get married, they start to give off magical homo-waves...

...that destroy all straight marriages in their vicinity.

Didn't you know that?

[CatWoman]

19. LOLOLOLOL

"Magical homo waves"

got it!! :D

[RubyDuby in GA]

22. Kind of like that old SNL skit

with Strom Thurmond in the elevator - "don't stand too close to 'em, you might catch the gay!"

[Shakespeare]

2. A credit union? Did they forget the part where Jesus....

....gets extremely pissed off (his only demonstration of anger in all of the gospels) and physically tosses the moneychangers out of the temple?

Man, that's messed up.

[Misunderestimator]

4. Well, hot damn... The driving force to get them inspired to march for

their rights is opposition to gay marriage. What irony.

[KurtNYC]

6. When is someone going to ask these people

why they want gay people to be more promiscuous? From a pragmatic viewpoint and as a way to frame this issue, closing off mechanisms which reinforce monogamy means that people are being encouraged to be LESS monogamous.

Just like making abortion illegal will only make abortion less safe and will create other problems. They aren't working toward less abortion only making illegal. And making anything illegal has almost nothing to do with improving a situation in a pragmatic way.

[Ron Green]

7. Hey, Main, can I buy me some indulgences?

[RobertSeattle]

9. What, not out helping the poor, healing the sick?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. Surprised the King center would even let them use their facility to

promote hatred....

[KamaAina]

15. You can't be shocked, obviously :) but I can

I once met someone who worked at the King Center. He was helping us put together a demo against OxyRush who was in Atlanta addressing some kkkonvention. During that same road trip we pulled off one of the first actions against notorious homophobes Cracker Barrel (don't remember if the King Center guy was involved in that).

If he's still there, he must be aghast that the King Center would open its doors to these bigots. :grr:

[Laughing Mirror]

18. It is shameful

Wonder who authorized this?

[w4rma]

11. Credit union = money lender. Jesus would toss them out on their ears. (nt)

[Laughing Mirror]

14. National Black Justice Coalition website here

For those who'd like to pay them a visit. I hope DUers, especially those who are gay and African-American, turn out and give them lots and lots of support.

http://www.nbjcoalition.org/

[juslikagrzly]

16. Check out the rest of their webpage.....

the "first Lady" page is especially enlightening, as is the page listing "her staff". They have a "director of security" for gawd's sake! Why does a church need a director of security???

[CatWoman]

20. do you remember Lisa Lopes, of "TLC"?

She was a member of the church, as are other celebrities.

Her funeral was performed there.

That's the only reason I can think of.

BTW: They also employ security to aid in traffic control. The last time I went there, they had about 5 parking lots, and security guards helped direct the traffic.