Some Kalamazoo, MI churches withdraw homeless support over local anti-GLBT discrimination ordinance

racaulk

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Fri Dec-18-09 11:43 AM
Original message

Some Kalamazoo, MI churches withdraw homeless support over local anti-GLBT discrimination ordinance

Edited on Fri Dec-18-09 12:05 PM by racaulk

K’zoo Churches: we can’t be seen with tolerant Christians

Timothy Kincaid
December 17th, 2009

<---snip--->

Take as example a situation that is happening in Kalamazoo, MI. Eight churches had joined together to provide food for the homeless. They would provide food and religious support hoping to gradually draw the homeless back into society.

But then in June the city council of Kalamazoo voted to ban housing and employment discrimination against LGBT people. And some of the churches in Kalamazoo said, “Treat all God’s children with dignity? Yeah, I think we can get behind that.” But when the voters of Kalamazoo passed the non-discrimination ordinance with 62% of the vote, this became too much for some anti-gay ministers.

So they decided that they just couldn’t serve food to the homeless with someone who thought that gay people should not be, well, homeless. And because some of the other Martha’s Table participants supported the ordinance, then they took their ladles and went home.

<---snip--->

I marvel at the three who left. What, exactly, do they think faith, religion, and Christianity are all about? At this season, Christians speak of joy to the world, of peace on earth, of God’s love, of goodness, of kindness, of charity. How do they reconcile that with a decision to not feed the hungry because another church thinks that gay people shouldn’t be fired or evicted for being gay?

<---snip--->

Link: http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/12/17/18434

Edited to add:

On a related note (and a rant on my part), too often we hear that the only objection that some have against marriage equality is the word "marriage" itself. That these people are fine with gays and lesbians having all the rights and privileges of straight people, they just don't want the word marriage "corrupted."

Here is a case where one small city passed a local ordinance, by popular vote, to prevent discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing and employment -- an ordinance that had NOTHING to do with marriage equality -- and local religious figures object. And they're willing to use their support of the local homeless population, who desperately need all the support they can get, as a gambit because they apparently do not like being denied the "right" to fire and evict gay people at will.

Make no mistake about it, these people will settle for absolutely nothing less than no equal rights provisions for GLBT persons at all. In some cases around the world (as recently evidenced by the proposed legislation in Uganda and Rwanda), they don't even think we have a right to live. The argument that they're only interested in "saving marriage" is complete and utter bullshit, and needs to be vociferously countered and opposed at every opportunity.

:rant: