According to the bible, Jeebus supposedly kicked the money changers out
of the Temple for making it a 'den of thieves'. If he existed, I wonder
what he might have thought of this.
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Houses of Right-Wing Worship
By Rose Aguilar, AlterNet
Posted on June 7, 2005, Printed on June 7, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/22173/
In a ceremony that felt more like a church service than a political
event, Texas Governor Rick Perry chose a Sunday afternoon to sign
anti-abortion rights and anti-gay legislation inside the gym of the
Calvary Christian Academy, an evangelical school in Fort Worth, Texas.
The ceremony was filled with praise for "pro-family, pro-life" groups
and religious references.
"I don't get confused about where God is," said Perry. "He's everywhere.
He's over there, he's here. Matter of fact, we could be doing this in
the parking lot of Wal-Mart and God would be there."
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Don Wildmon,
president and founder of the American Family Association, two ardent
opponents of gay rights, joined Perry on stage. Their remarks received
several standing ovations and shouts of "Amen!" from a diverse crowd of
about 1,000.
"We may be on the grounds of a Christian school today, but our message
speaks to all who believe in standing up for the unborn, all who cherish
strong traditional families regardless of party, of ethnicity or creed,"
said Perry. "We're here because a quiet majority decided to have their
voice heard and heard loudly, that understand that families are the
building blocks of civilization, who recognize that marriage must be
defended because it is the glue that binds the very fabric of society."
After Governor Perry signed the bills, the crowd belted out "God Bless
America."
The abortion bill requires girls under 18 to obtain their parents'
consent before obtaining an abortion. Perry also signed a bill --
although his signature wasn't required -- to put a gay marriage ban on
the November ballot. Texas state law already prohibits same-sex
marriages, but supporters of the amendment fear the law could be struck
down in court. Don Sachs says he's in favor of a constitutional
amendment banning gay marriage because "it's a sin according to the
Bible."
"If you want to use the Bible and ban gay marriage, then ban divorce.
The Bible says that. Of course, they're not doing that," says Reverend
Michael Piazza, Dean of the Cathedral of Hope, a gay and lesbian church
in Dallas. "What they're doing is trying to use the Bible to ban gay
marriages and the Bible doesn't say anything about that. We do that to
explain the hypocrisy of the whole thing and force them to explain how
it is that they'll take a stand on one issue and ignore others."
Piazza was one of the 350 protesters who greeted ceremony attendees with
signs reading, "Hate Is Not A Family Value," "I'm a Tolerant Christian,"
"Don't Ruin God's House" and "Separation Of Church And State."
In a letter to Governor Perry, Americans United for Separation of Church
and State (AU) warned that the event exploits a house of worship for
partisan political purposes and could jeopardize the congregation's
tax-exempt status. The group has already filed one complaint with the
IRS. "We might file another complaint," said Jeremy Leaming, spokesman
with AU. "The use of the language was cleary to use a church and it's
resources to help a political campaign. It's highly disconcerting."
Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, an Austin-based
nonprofit that counters the religious right, criticized the right-wing's
use of churches to spread their propaganda."Why is Governor Perry acting
like he was only elected to serve the Christians in Texas?" Miller asks.
"As far as I know, he was elected to serve everyone. The only question I
hope is being asked by people of faith is, when will politicians stop
misuing our places of worship in order to promote their own campaigns?"
In response, Perry said, "It [wouldn't] make any difference where we
signed this piece of legislation. If we'd been in a Wal-Mart parking
lot, they'd still be griping about it."
Separation of church and state isn't important to Perry supporter Eloise
Kennedy. "I go to church, and I'm a member of the state, so how can I
separate myself? There shouldn't be a separation," she says. "I loved
today's event because it put God first and thats what we're here for.
God first, life second."
The event was held in the gym instead of the nearby church sanctuary to
deflect complaints from protesters like Mike Herrington, a sixth
generation Texan and member of Soulforce, a group dedicated to changing
the minds of religious leaders who engage in anti-homosexual campaigns.
"Baptists, which I used to be, believe strongly in the separation of
church and state and that's what's so contradictory about this whole
thing," he says. "You can hardly call this separation of church and
state."
Many of the protesters said Texans who live in small towns are beginning
to speak out and get involved in peaceful demonstrations. "There have
been three special sessions to fix education finance, and all they've
managed to do is get a bill passed to eliminate gay marriage that they
can come sign in a church," says Lisa Earley, a fifth grade teacher from
Grand Prairie, Texas. "I happen to be straight. I'm out here because
this is wrong."
In addition to educators, nursing home advocates were also heavily
represented at the event. Nursing homes in Texas haven't had a rate
increase in six years, according to Cheryl Killian, owner of three small
nursing homes and administrator at the Sycamore Care Center in Fort
Worth. "We're about 22 percent underfunded right now, per patient, per
day," she says. "People are dying right now in Texas because of the
underfunding. They're getting bed sores and laying in their own waste
because we can't afford to keep on going. I've been doing this for 30
years and it's never been this bad."
Killian, one of the few on the street who actually voted for Perry, said
her fellow Republicans would rather sit in a church than face reality.
"It's not their issue. Maybe they're afraid of speaking out," she said.
Republican Kathy Holt says too much taxpayer money is being wasted on
administration costs in education and nursing homes. "The church should
be responsible for taking care of the elderly," she says. "I'd be more
than happy to write that woman a check. In fact, I bet I could get that
entire church to make a donation."
When I asked Janet Waterman to respond to Cheryl Killian's concerns
about nursing homes, she said, "People have been dying for years. What
about the babies who are dying from abortion?"
Because Republicans currently dominate Texas politics, protesters say
they're often discouraged, but Sunday's event gives them hope. "I have
not seen something like this in quite some time," says Bryan Hartmann,
executive director and political consultant for the Democratic Arlington
Political Action Committee, a group that began just three weeks ago.
"This proves that people are fed up. They're tired and they're hurting.
People aren't going to tolerate this much longer and I think that goes
for moderate Republicans as well."
Rose Aguilar is a San Francisco-based journalist gathering stories from
people living in states that voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush.
Track her journey at Stories in America.
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http://www.alternet.org/story/22173/
--
John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
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