Big Guns

The Christian Civic League will stage an anti-gay-rights rally tomorrow on the steps of the statehouse. Mike Heath predicts a turnout of 1,000. The real story here is that leaders of the Christian right are coming from all over the country to promote their anti-gay agenda in our state capital.

From a CCL email:

[The rally] will include appearances by Rev. H.B. London from Focus on the Family; Phil Burress, from Citizens for Community Values; Rev. Lou Sheldon, from the Traditional Values Coalition; and Bob Knight, from Concerned Women for America.

H.B. London is vice president and head of ministry outreach for Focus on the Family, the largest international far-right christian group in the world. It is headed by the powerful James Dobson and its headquarters are so large they have their own zipcode in Colorado.

Phil Burress was the main force behind the successful, draconian anti-gay-marriage amendment initiative in Ohio. (He is also, interestingly, a recovering porn addict).

Lou Sheldon is head of the Traditional Values Coalition, a single-issue advocacy group that targets all things gay. The organization claims to represent a coalition of 43,000 churches accross the country.

Bob Knight is a leader of Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest far-right Christian women's organization with more than half a million members.

Look up any of these names and you will find a long record of bigotry and a rising tide of power. The hard right sees the coming anti-discrimination referendum in Maine as an important national issue and their money and influence will be focused on our state in the coming months. This will be a crucial test for equal rights.

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