Beware of Prop 8 Backer Seeking ‘Friendship’

By Peter Montgomery | May 28, 2009 8:04 am
On the day the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8, the ballot initiative stripping same-sex couples of their right to get married in the state, one of the most aggressive backers of the initiative announced that he’s looking for a few good relationships with people who are “opposed to biblical values.” 
 
Today, the day of the California Supreme Court Proposition 8 ruling (10am PDT), San Diego pastor Dr. Jim Garlow, one of the visible warriors in the battle for traditional, natural marriage in California, is calling for a “two-pronged strategy.” He stated, “As pastors, we must unabashedly stand for life and for marriage, even if those two causes are not as hip as they once were. Our goal is not to be chic, but biblical.”

At the same time, Dr. Garlow strongly urges forming friendships with those who oppose biblical truths regarding marriage and life. During the heat of the Prop 8 battle, Garlow reached out hundreds of times to persons who advocated same sex “marriage,” in a desire for civil discourse and meaningful relationships.

While in Washington, DC recently, Garlow spent time — his second such meeting — with the nation’s top leader, funder and proponent of same sex “marriage” with the desire of establishing a friendship, which Garlow hopes will open the door to ministry.

Although Garlow led one of San Diego’s largest prolife rallies a week ago and views abortion as a barbaric act, he has reached out and met with the spokesman for Planned Parenthood. “While not compromising biblical values, nor backing down on the issues, I am trying to do what I think Jesus would do — be with them, and look for the possibility of ministry,” says Garlow.

 
James Garlow isn’t a household name, but the San Diego pastor was a driving force behind the Religious Right’s mobilization of money and volunteers to pass Prop 8. He sponsored a series of organizing meetings and conference calls that pushed pastors to do more to counter what he and other speakers called the satanic gay rights movement.
 
Garlow reports that he’s been meeting with marriage equality backers seeking to establish civil discourse and “meaningful relationships.” But if anyone in the gay rights movement thinks that meeting with Garlow will accomplish anything other than giving the preacher some additional justification for comparing himself to Jesus, or some good public relations for appearing reasonable, it’s worth taking a few minutes to familiarize yourself with his record. Here are just a couple of highlights:
 
·         Garlow has said repeatedly that Prop 8 is a spiritual war against Satan, who wants to decimate Gods plan for marriage, and against Satan’s allies in the pro-equality movement. He told pastors on one of his organizing calls, “One of the dumbest things the devil ever did was attack the institution of marriage.” 
 
·         On one of the subsequent calls, he proposed that Christian families try to circumvent campaign donation disclosure laws.
 
·         Garlow is also a major pusher of the Religious Right’s Big Lie on Religious Liberty, writing in USA Today that Prop 8 was necessary to keep clergy from being thrown in jail: ”When same-sex relationships — especially marriage — acquire government sanction, anyone in opposition to it must be intimidated, silenced, fined, jailed or at least threatened.”
 
With that kind of friend….

Tags: Abortion California marriage Marriage Equality Prop 8 Proposition 8 rallies Religious Liberty Religious Right Supreme Court planned parenthood Religious Right

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