Militant Gays Need To Grow Some Skin

Here they go again. Cut off your nose to spite your face. You cannot “cure” homosexuality any more than homophobia, or racism, or bigotry. You also cannot “pray” these away. The best you can hope for is to harness the impulses of your DNA pattern so they are not destructive.

Which means that fighting, pouting, marching and in general raising a fuss over it is largely an exercise in self-gratification.

Now if they channel all that energy into something useful, perhaps we’ll have room temperature fusion by next year.

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Gay Rights Group Criticizes Obama
New York Times
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
October 25, 2007

The nation’s largest gay rights organization criticized Senator Barack Obama of Illinois yesterday for scheduling a gospel concert on Sunday with a singer who has made controversial statements about homosexuality.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the gay rights organization, urged Mr. Obama in a phone call yesterday to cancel the appearance of the singer, Donnie McClurkin, who is to sing Sunday night in a gospel concert in Columbia, S.C.

Critics say that Mr. McClurkin counsels that homosexuality is a curse that can be cured through prayer, although in an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Mr. McClurkin said that his words had been misconstrued and that he had not crusaded against gay men and lesbians.

Mr. Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate, has not canceled Mr. McClurkin’s appearance but has scheduled an openly gay minister, the Rev. Andy Sidden, to speak on the concert program. But that did not appear to tamp down criticism from some gay activists or increasingly hostile bloggers.

The controversy reflects the competing interests of two important constituencies of the Democratic Party, with gay activists complaining that Mr. Obama is seeking the support of black evangelicals at their expense. The gospel tour, which begins Friday with other singers, is part of a broader effort by the Obama campaign to win over black evangelicals.

Mr. Obama is in a fierce struggle in South Carolina with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for the support of black voters, who make up half the electorate in the Democratic primary. The state’s primary, scheduled for mid-January, could be crucial, coming after New Hampshire and Iowa and before several big states vote on Feb. 5.

Mr. Solmonese said in a statement that he appreciated the campaign’s invitation to Mr. Sidden, but added: “There is no gospel in Donnie McClurkin’s message for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. That’s a message that certainly doesn’t belong on any presidential candidate’s stage.”

Obama aides said the candidate stood by a statement he made Monday: “I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.” Mr. Obama added that he wanted to encourage tolerance rather than division.