There is much talk swirling around the city of Anchorage these days about the proposed amendment which adds sexual orientation and veteran status in the non-discriminatory practices ordinance. It already includes race, color,
sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, and physical or mental disability.
There are Facebook pages, websites for and against the amendment, and the radio waves are all abuzz. I just thought I’d take a moment and delve into one of the groups who has weighed in against providing equal treatment to all people.
Jerry Prevo, pastor over at the Anchorage Baptist Temple on Northern Lights Blvd., has decided to jump into the debate by creating a website designed to whip up fear and panic.
Prevo wrote the following letter to the Anchorage Daily News to announce the site:
Here are just some of the reasons I am against the homosexual ordinance.
It would allow any man to dress like a woman and use any public women’s restroom. Ladies, do you want that to happen? If not then you should contact the Anchorage Assembly and show up at the June 9 public hearing.
A man in a highly visible sales job could come to work dressed like a woman.
A person of either sex who indulges a taste for extreme sexual promiscuity and pornography during working hours could not be stopped or fired even though it damages the company’s image.
Maybe, worst of all, this ordinance would allow a man who teaches a second grade class or any grade to show up as a woman in the classroom and the School District could do nothing because of this ordinance.
This is a poorly written ordinance. For more of my explanation can be found at SOSanchorage (dot) org. (Author’s note: I refuse to link to their site on moral grounds and the fact that I might get tube cooties.)
– Dr. Jerry Prevo
pastor, Anchorage Baptist Temple”
If you go to the site, you’ll find the following topics on the homepage:
* ANY MAN CAN PUT ON A DRESS AND WALK INTO THE LADIES’ RESTROOM. Click HERE to see why.
* SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS COULD BE FINED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IF THIS ORDINANCE PASSES. Click HERE to see how.
* YOUR CHILD’S 2ND GRADE TEACHER COULD BE A MAN ONE DAY AND SHOW UP AS A WOMAN THE NEXT. Click HERE to understand why.
* THE SALVATION ARMY, PERHAPS AMERICA’S MOST RESPECTED CHARITY, COULD BE DENIED PUBLIC FUNDING. Click HERE to read how.
* THE BOY SCOUTS WILL BE FORCED TO ALLOW HOMOSEXUALS (men attracted sexually to males) TO SUPERVISE YOUNG BOYS. Click HERE to find out why.
* BOY SCOUTS WILL LOSE PUBLIC FUNDING AND WILL BE FORCED TO SPEND MONEY ON LAW SUITS. Click HERE to see why.
* LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS WILL HAVE TO ALLOW CROSS DRESSERS ON THEIR SALES TEAM. Click HERE to read why.
* “SEXUAL ORIENTATION” IS A DANGEROUS LEGAL TERM TO ADD TO OUR DISCRIMINATION LAWS. Click HERE to read the proposed definition.
* EXEMPTIONS FROM THIS ORDINANCE FOR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS ARE WORTHLESS. Click HERE to read proposed wording.
* READ WHAT AN ANCHORAGE ATTORNEY SAYS ABOUT THE HOMOSEXUAL ORDINANCE. Click HERE.
* THE NOTION THAT HOMOSEXUALS AS A GROUP CONSTITUTE A TRUE MINORITY IN NEED OF SPECIAL PROTECTION IS FALSE!
Click HERE.
* ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ARTICLES BY ROBERT KNIGHT – CWA SPOKESMAN.
How Do Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity affect public policy? Click HERE.
The Boy Scouts Will Be Only the First Casuality. Click HERE.
Sexual Orientation and American Culture. Click HERE.
* CONTACT YOUR ASSEMBLY REPRESENTATIVE. Click HERE to view list and contact information.
* WHAT CAN YOU DO? Click HERE.
* PROPOSED ORDINANCE. Click HERE.
* CONTRIBUTE TO SOSANCHORAGE. ORG Click HERE.
* DISCRIMINATION ISN’T A BAD WORD. Click HERE.
When I looked at the site, the first thing I noticed was the graphics. There are pictures of men dressed as women, women dressed as men, and lots of lots of ALL CAPS. This site was created to send shivers of fear down the spines of the people of Anchorage. I have to tell you, it worked. This site truly scares me, but not for the reasons it was created.
When you click on any of these buttons, instead of linking to another web page, a PDF file is automatically downloaded onto your computer, which I find highly irritating.
In the “Discrimination Isn’t a Bad Word” file, I found this:
“This is about a movement among activists promoting the homosexual legal agenda to persecute and prosecute anyone who won’t be coerced into fully and openly endorsing their agenda. Christians and others of different faiths are now being targeted across the country who decline to endorse, facilitate, or participate in activities that violate their conscience or religious convictions.”
Really? This is about promoting the homosexual agenda? Imagine if we substituted “sex”, “race”, or “religion” into their argument. “It’s okay to discriminate against women/blacks/Catholics because they are just trying to promote their agenda. Don’t force us to treat others equally because it goes against our religious views.”
They claim that Christians are being targeted because of their religious convictions. Let’s examine that a little further. First of all, they whine about being targeted when that’s exactly what they’re doing. Secondly, wasn’t it was Jesus himself who stated, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 14:12. Where does it say in the bible that it’s okay to hate homosexuals? Jesus doesn’t say, “Love each other, but for goodness’ sake, don’t love the gays?” Seems to me that those who feel “targeted” for their convictions might want to read a little more of the bible they claim to believe so strongly in. On the Anchorage Baptist Temple’s webpage, it states, “Believing that the Bible is the word of God, Pastor Prevo’s preaching and teaching is Bible-centered, practical, and encouraging.” Bible-centered. Right. Encouraging. Sure. Depends on who you’re talking to, I guess.
Another nugget: “In the end, this is not a civil liberties issue. It is a religious liberties issue. Infringement of those liberties is guaranteed should this ordinance be forced upon the people of Anchorage.” (emphasis mine)
I see where they’re coming from here. What they’re saying is, “It’s not about treating you fairly, it’s about treating us fairly.” They want it both ways. They don’t want to be discriminated against but they want to discriminate against others.
In conclusion, I’ll leave you with a gem I found over at the Anchorage Baptist Temple website. May you find the irony in the following:
I don’t know your religious affiliation, but I’m glad a non-LGBT person gets this kind of hypocrisy.
If I lived in Alaska, this ordinance would cover me. I am a pre-operative transsexual. The whole bathroom thing centers around one thing… fear. There is not ONE documented case ANYWHERE of a trans person committing a sex crime in a restroom. That is because we simply want to use a bathroom that won’t result in US being sexually assaulted (which there are documented cases of, and I know of this personally because I was assaulted in a mens restroom). And really, do you want this “woman” coming into your restroom? http://tr.im/n3cI He’s a transgender man and if he is forced to use the restroom that matches his genitals, it would be the woman’s restroom. They don’t think of that/comment on that because it doesn’t fit their fear narrative.
Christ also said that there are two commandments, to love god and love your neighbor as you love yourself. These “Christians” are more like the Pharisees of the Bible than the Christ, who ate with the most vile of the vile. He ate with prostitutes, and dined with lepers.
In the end, they want to sit in their fancy cathedrals and hear dogma that supports their own fears or bigotry. If they followed Christ they would not only support hiring GLBT people, but working with them as well. What is a better way to witness than that?
More than anything, I’m a human being. I wish that being as such would be enough to have my fellow human beings respect my personal autonomy and liberty. Unfortunately it’s not. That’s why we have laws protecting those who are discriminated against.
But why do I continually expect logic from a group of people that can justify war, but follow Christ? For them it’s not a true spiritual journey, but a journey of justification. Christ HEALED his murderers and rebuffed Peter for cutting off the ear of one of his condemners. For current day Christians/Dominionists it’s pick and choose theology.
One more thing, they need to learn that restraint in using caps (and lies) is a good thing. It’s kind of like their message, you spread too many lies out, people will get suspicious that they’re being conned.
But they just can’t help themselves, because if you let the ordinances be on their own merits, they’d pass every single time.
Just remember, the sky is falling.
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