Bishop Harry Jackson's long history of anti-gay activity
(UPDATE: The 365gay web site has removed the article. There is an vague message there “Correction: On Monday 365gay.com published a story on an anti-gay rally in Annapolis, Maryland. The story was based on incorrect information and has been removed.” It would be good to know which aspects of the article aren’t correct. So for now, I’ll strike the news article about the rally, but Jackson’s views are well-documented. )
Bishop Harry Jackson, chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, and pastor of Hope Christian Church in Maryland, is one of the organizers of an anti-gay protest over a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to marry in the state. (365gay):
Within hours of the introduction of the measure conservative groups had mustered about 1,000 people for a demonstration in front of the State House.
Most of the speakers were from area churches, demanding an amendment to the state constitution to bar gay and lesbian couples from tying the knot.
“This gathering is an expression of the desire of the Christian community in Maryland,” said Rev. Harry Jackson Jr., one of the organizers.
Jackson later said that it was irrelevant that the bill includes a caveat allowing churches to refuse to marry same-sex couples. Jackson said that any attempt to give credence to same-sex marriage was destructive to traditional families.
Jackson believes that the only sanctioned sexual expression we understand in the bible is the man-woman relationship within a marriage, and that gays and lesbians are somehow inherently under-equipped to raise a child because there is not a father/mother-headed family.
The evangelical pastor and Town Hall columnist has a serious victim complex; apparently the passage of hate crimes legislation would be a sign that the Homosexual Agenda has won and Christian persecution is around the corner — it will lead to the imprisonment of pastors for quoting Leviticus. Read the hysteria after the jump.His High Impact Leadership Coalition ran this embarrassing ad at left (note that Ken Hutcherson is in there).
[G]ay activists around the country are getting nervous that they are about to experience an embarrassing political setback. Instead of amending the hate crimes legislation that protects churches in a substantive way, they are simply crying out in a louder, more threatening manner. Gay advocates are not looking for fairness; they are looking for an upper hand.
— Jackson, in a Town Hall column.
and this wisdom:
“Gay rights is not an extension of the civil rights movement simply because there’s no choice involved in our blackness. I think there is an amazingly militant group of gays who have made it their point to say, ‘We’re going to be out; we’re going to be visible’ — that’s their choice.”
“We’ve got, I think, both a biblical lens in which I’m viewing this problem, and a sociological lens. Something that devalues the institution [of marriage] would take us to an even further level. The gay community is well on its way to getting many, many of [the] rights that they want. I’m simply wanting to protect traditional marriage.”
…”I’m not against gay people; I’m not trying to bash them per se. I just think that we’re in such a terrible situation in my community that I’ve got to protect the institution.”
“In addition to the damage that gay marriage does to the black family structure that is already under stress, legalization of gay marriage has the potential of endangering the next generation.”
I’m sure Maryland residents will get to see plenty of Jackson regarding this bill, since he doesn’t seem to have much else to do aside from fomenting bigotry.
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