In an October 22 article, Los Angeles Times staffer Jessica Garrison found "Black clergy both for and against gay marriage speak[ing] out" on the matter of California Proposition 8. The ballot initiative would enshrine in the Golden State's constitution the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.
By the close of her article, Garrison found space not only to suggest that black Christians voting for Prop 8 were intolerant of homosexuals, but to hint that their views on homosexuality do a disservice to African-Americans by engendering a stereotype that they are more "homophobic" than Americans at-large (emphasis mine):
African American voters could play a crucial role in the fight over same-sex marriage. Though they make up only about 6% of the electorate in California, they are expected to vote in record numbers this election because of Barack Obama's presence on the ballot.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓The Yes on 8 campaign is counting on them, arguing that some polls suggest African Americans are generally less open to same-sex unions than other groups.
"They are our strongest supporters," said Frank Schubert, who is managing the Yes on 8 campaign.
But opponents of the proposition say they think that black voters may be more tolerant than many political professionals predict.
"People have this impression that black people in general are more homophobic than the population as a whole," said Ron Buckmire, who heads the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, a black gay rights group in Los Angeles.
By conflating the matter of the defense of traditional marriage with homophobia, Garrison tacitly took a side in the dispute, co-opting the rhetoric of gay marriage supporters who would argue same-sex marriage is an issue of "tolerance." What's more, Garrison unnecessarily gave voice to an offensive and unsubstantiated stereotype in service of that bias.
In closing her article, Garrison cited a black churchgoer who quoted the biblical injunction to "judge not, less [sic] ye be judged." It's unfortunate she didn't heed that advice in her reporting.
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters




















Editor at Large
Comments Policy
"homophobic" is this like
October 22, 2008 - 10:52 ET by TruthMonger"homophobic"
is this like being rapeaphobic?
or crimeaphobic?
or deathaphobic?
Government is the "greedy capitalism" of marxists
Her piece is full of steriotypes and bigotry
October 22, 2008 - 11:00 ET by c5thenBlacks are expected to have a larger than normal turnout because there is a black man on the ticket? That's racial bigotry.
Blacks are more "homophobic" than the population as a whole?
How can you be 'phobic' of a lifestyle choice? You can be disaproving of it and even hostile to it, but how can you be afraid of it?
Besides, it is possible to be 'tolerant' of another lifestyle without having to confer special status on it. There are homosexuals who disagree with the idea of 'same-sex' marriage. Whould Garrison describe them as 'homophobic'?
surprised they didn't just go the whole 9 yards
October 22, 2008 - 11:52 ET by Defector01and call them uncle toms to both the black community and the liberal agenda
though it always makes me laugh a bit that the liberals and democrats expect two of the most conservative church going populations (Blacks and latinos) to go along with an agenda that goes against almost all their views
I have only ever made one prayer to God, a very short one: O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it - Voltaire
Defector... The exception
October 22, 2008 - 11:57 ET by Clear thinkerDefector...
The exception would be those that attend Churches that preach Black Liberation Theology.
Obama’s Jackbooted Thugs
The woman in the above link is getting a lot of hate phone calls from liberals. If you get the chance, please send her some words of encouragement.
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
With the disparate number of
October 22, 2008 - 11:59 ET by SickofLibsWith the disparate number of single-mother black households, why in hell should ANY black clergy be supporting homosexual marriage?
This is not just about marriage, it's more about the indoctrination of our children. Anyone that disagrees with this can explain to me why in God's name did the California Teacher's Association donate ONE MILLION DOLLARS to defeat Prop 8 ? Are all California teachers homosexuals who are just dying to get married? They couldn't put their money behind something that actually benefitted the children they claim are so important?
The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force itself only donated $215,000!
Delicious Irony
October 22, 2008 - 14:30 ET by deerjerkydaveThe African American community strongly supports traditional marriage in polls. The irony is that they will be showing up in stronger numbers this election because of Barack Obama. It is delicious irony for the pro-gay agenda.
And we object to being called "homophobic" why?
October 22, 2008 - 15:30 ET byFirst of all, "Christians" are SUPPOSED to be "homophobic" because the Lord is! The Lord, thru His apostles stated in no uncertain terms that homosexuality is an ABOMINATION that he will SEND YOU TO HELL FOR! Now what part of that do you think you're supposed to "tolerate"?
In fact not only will he send you to hell for "practicing" homosexuality he will also send you to hell for TOLERATING those who DO practice homosexuality even if you DON'T!!! Bet ya didn't know that didja?
Romans 1:22-32 (New International Version)
22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Clearly the bible, apart from the lies told about it, has no toleration for homosexuality or homosexuals. The only acceptance is after you REPENT and stop BEING a homosexual. It's really amazing to see so called Christians falling for this bunk, I mean didn't God already make his opinion known when He destroyed SODOM and GOMORRAH? While it says that most of the men were depraved homosexuals, certainly not "everyone" was! But when Christ spoke of His return he likened the conditions of that Day with the conditions of morality found in Sodom.
Luke 17:29
29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
And in case any of you are clueless either willfully or because you go to a temple of false doctrine masquerading as a Church, here's the relevant portion of Genesis 19: 1-12
1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 "My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning."
"No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."
3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
9 "Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
Not everyone in Sodom or Gomorrah was an immoral homosexual. Some of them were CHILDREN, some of them were the FIANCEE'S OF LOT'S DAUGHTERS who were NOT homosexual, they simply didn't believe Lot when he warned them of the wrath that was about to be visited upon Sodom, because of this sin. Do you really think that the same God which destroyed CITIES full of people because of this filth, now wants you to tolerate it?
It is a LIE of the first magnitude, sponsored by the FALSE Christian church and it's false offshoots, that insist that we "love the sinner but hate the sin". This is NOT BIBLICAL! "Narrow is the way that leads to life". These are the same sort who imagine themselves saved or even "Christian" without having been "born again" as the scriptures demand. These are the same who imagine themselves to have received the Holy Ghost without speaking in tongues like EVERYONE ELSE in the bible who received it! These are the same Christians who look at all of the scriptures in the book of Acts which tells them that the ONLY baptism recognized by either Christ or His Apostles was in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST (Acts 2:38, 4:12 10:44-48, 19:1-6) and still persist in using the flawed understandings of the apostates in Rome to baptize falsely in the empty titles of "Father, Son & Holy Ghost", none of which are "names".
Here is Paul's biblical admonition not to keep company with a man who continually has SEX outside of marriage with WOMEN!
1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
If you were told not to keep company with a man whose (heterosexual) sin has formed his reputation, how on earth can you believe that the same God wants you to "tolerate" something he HATES even worst than fornication between men and women?
And before some biblical illiterate trots out the tired and oft misunderstood scriptures about "Judge not lest ye be judged".. I offer this. You don't understand what you're reading. We are SUPPOSED to judge those within the church or those who "say" they are within the church.....IF you look at the scripture above it goes on to say...
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
12For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
We don't judge the world yet, but we DO judge what behavior is or is not acceptable in the Church! And in case you've been mired in liberal false readings of scripture for so long ( "judge not", being the liberals mantra!), there's this...1Corinthians 2
15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"[a] But we have the mind of Christ.
So there is a biblical "standard" both of behavior and of what to "tolerate". And your standard BETTER be the same as the Lords! Too many of these unregenerated buildings masquerading as "churches" have let down from this standard and the result is a church full of fornicators and homosexuals! However, liberal misunderstandings of scripture not withstanding, it doesn't matter what we "think" or "feel" about a subject. Our feelings don't subjugate scripture or make the sun rise. What matters is "WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD SAY"? And here is the last "word" on the subject...
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If you don't like it...complain to Jesus 'cause it ain't changin'!