A church names names of gay-marriage foes
A Jacksonville church published the names of Florida residents who signed a petition backing the ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage.
BY ALEXANDRA ALTER
aalter@MiamiHerald.com
A Florida church launched a campaign this week to identify supporters of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage by publishing the names and addresses of 400,000 Florida residents in 60 counties.
The Internet campaign by Christ Church of Peace, a nondenominational church in Jacksonville, has been denounced by groups that support a state ballot initiative that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Gary Debusk, pastor of Christ Church of Peace, said the church began the ''Know Thy Neighbor'' effort Monday to encourage dialogue and prevent voter-signature fraud. As the head of a congregation that supports same-sex marriage, Debusk said he also wanted to add a new perspective to a debate that he said has been dominated largely by religious conservatives. ''It's time for another voice that is Christian to be heard,'' he said.
The website, knowthy neighbor.org/florida, is linked to the church's home page and contains a searchable database of names. The names on such petitions are part of the public record, according to the Florida Department of State.
Christian groups such as the Fort Lauderdale-based Center for Reclaiming America and the Florida Family Policy Council have denounced the website as a misguided effort to intimidate activists.
PRIVACY ISSUE
''It's a gross invasion of people's privacy,'' said John Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council, an offshoot of James Dobson's national Christian conservative group Focus on the Family.
Stemberger argued that, if Christian conservatives published the names and addresses of gay-rights activists, they would likely be condemned as hatemongers.
''A lot of people would be outraged and say it's a hateful, un-Christian gesture,'' he said.
Lisa Owens, a nurse who lives in Pasco County, said she was furious when she learned from the Florida Family Policy Council that her name and address had been posted online.
''If somebody wanted to do a hate crime, my address was right there,'' she said. ``I felt like my privacy had been invaded.''
So far, Florida's Department of State had not received any complaints of harassment by people identified on the website.
The Know Thy Neighbor campaign, modeled on a similar effort in Massachusetts, may further feed controversy surrounding religious support for a ban on gay marriage.
Christian conservatives leading the petition drive say they have faced increasing interference from opponents of the ballot initiative.
Last week, Sunrise police investigated allegations that an off-duty officer harassed Christian volunteers who were collecting signatures for the marriage amendment at a Promise Keepers rally. Stemberger, whose group organized the petition effort at the event, said the officer verbally harassed volunteers and stopped them from distributing petitions.
More than 466,000 people have signed petitions supporting a state ban on same-sex marriage, zeroing in on the 611,000 signatures required to get the proposed amendment onto the 2008 ballot.
Some political analysts say that while the Internet campaign may deter some people from signing the petition, others will likely be stirred to activism as a result.
A QUESTION OF ANGER
''The actual activists will not be deterred by this. In fact, they might be angered and their anger will make them more zealous,'' said John Green, a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
John Schumpert, a founding member of Christ Church of Peace, said he got the idea for the website last February after reading an article about how gay-rights activists in Massachusetts published the names of residents who supported a gay-marriage ban there. After the church board unanimously approved the campaign, church leaders contacted Florida county supervisors of elections and got the information on petition signers. So far, the church has posted names from 60 of 67 counties.
Schumpert said the website isn't meant to encourage people to harass petition-signers. Instead, he hopes it will offer those who oppose a marriage amendment the chance to look up friends and family members who signed and engage them in dialogue.
''The information is really there for people to use in a positive manner,'' he said. ``You cannot legislate to take away someone's rights or permanently deny them rights under the cover of darkness.''
Still, some Christians who support gay marriage say that publishing names and addresses is going too far.
Garth Thompson, pastor of the Miami Beach Community Church, said that while he favors the legalization of gay marriage, he disagrees with the church's tactics.
''Even though we are definitely a pro-gay-rights church and an open and affirming church, it seems to me that they have a right to their opinion and a right to privacy,'' he said. ``It's almost like blackmail.''
Source: Miami Herald
BY ALEXANDRA ALTER
aalter@MiamiHerald.com
A Florida church launched a campaign this week to identify supporters of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage by publishing the names and addresses of 400,000 Florida residents in 60 counties.
The Internet campaign by Christ Church of Peace, a nondenominational church in Jacksonville, has been denounced by groups that support a state ballot initiative that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Gary Debusk, pastor of Christ Church of Peace, said the church began the ''Know Thy Neighbor'' effort Monday to encourage dialogue and prevent voter-signature fraud. As the head of a congregation that supports same-sex marriage, Debusk said he also wanted to add a new perspective to a debate that he said has been dominated largely by religious conservatives. ''It's time for another voice that is Christian to be heard,'' he said.
The website, knowthy neighbor.org/florida, is linked to the church's home page and contains a searchable database of names. The names on such petitions are part of the public record, according to the Florida Department of State.
Christian groups such as the Fort Lauderdale-based Center for Reclaiming America and the Florida Family Policy Council have denounced the website as a misguided effort to intimidate activists.
PRIVACY ISSUE
''It's a gross invasion of people's privacy,'' said John Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council, an offshoot of James Dobson's national Christian conservative group Focus on the Family.
Stemberger argued that, if Christian conservatives published the names and addresses of gay-rights activists, they would likely be condemned as hatemongers.
''A lot of people would be outraged and say it's a hateful, un-Christian gesture,'' he said.
Lisa Owens, a nurse who lives in Pasco County, said she was furious when she learned from the Florida Family Policy Council that her name and address had been posted online.
''If somebody wanted to do a hate crime, my address was right there,'' she said. ``I felt like my privacy had been invaded.''
So far, Florida's Department of State had not received any complaints of harassment by people identified on the website.
The Know Thy Neighbor campaign, modeled on a similar effort in Massachusetts, may further feed controversy surrounding religious support for a ban on gay marriage.
Christian conservatives leading the petition drive say they have faced increasing interference from opponents of the ballot initiative.
Last week, Sunrise police investigated allegations that an off-duty officer harassed Christian volunteers who were collecting signatures for the marriage amendment at a Promise Keepers rally. Stemberger, whose group organized the petition effort at the event, said the officer verbally harassed volunteers and stopped them from distributing petitions.
More than 466,000 people have signed petitions supporting a state ban on same-sex marriage, zeroing in on the 611,000 signatures required to get the proposed amendment onto the 2008 ballot.
Some political analysts say that while the Internet campaign may deter some people from signing the petition, others will likely be stirred to activism as a result.
A QUESTION OF ANGER
''The actual activists will not be deterred by this. In fact, they might be angered and their anger will make them more zealous,'' said John Green, a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
John Schumpert, a founding member of Christ Church of Peace, said he got the idea for the website last February after reading an article about how gay-rights activists in Massachusetts published the names of residents who supported a gay-marriage ban there. After the church board unanimously approved the campaign, church leaders contacted Florida county supervisors of elections and got the information on petition signers. So far, the church has posted names from 60 of 67 counties.
Schumpert said the website isn't meant to encourage people to harass petition-signers. Instead, he hopes it will offer those who oppose a marriage amendment the chance to look up friends and family members who signed and engage them in dialogue.
''The information is really there for people to use in a positive manner,'' he said. ``You cannot legislate to take away someone's rights or permanently deny them rights under the cover of darkness.''
Still, some Christians who support gay marriage say that publishing names and addresses is going too far.
Garth Thompson, pastor of the Miami Beach Community Church, said that while he favors the legalization of gay marriage, he disagrees with the church's tactics.
''Even though we are definitely a pro-gay-rights church and an open and affirming church, it seems to me that they have a right to their opinion and a right to privacy,'' he said. ``It's almost like blackmail.''
Source: Miami Herald
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