Homosexual Activists Plan March On Focus on the Family Headquarters
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
July 21, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The homosexual activist group Soulforce plans to march on the headquarters of a prominent Colorado-based pro-family ministry this weekend. Organizers, who have dubbed the July 22 event "The 1000-Watt March," expect at least a thousand homosexuals and lesbians to converge on the Focus on the Family campus and pray for its founder, Dr. James Dobson.
Soulforce members claim Focus on the Family, along with other Christian groups, engage in so-called "spiritual violence" against homosexuals and deny them justice. The homosexual group accuses Focus of being "one of the world's primary sources of defamation against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and same-gender families" and of disseminating misinformation that encourages bias, discrimination, and violence against homosexuals.
But Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for the Colorado Springs-based pro-family ministry, says it has never condoned any type of violence against homosexuals and, on the contrary, has reached out to them in love. Despite what some people may say or think, he asserts, Focus is not the type of organization "that says, 'Okay, if your son or daughter comes out of the closet and says that he or she is gay, disown them, throw them out of the house, don't talk to them again.'"
The emphasis of Focus' ministry to homosexuals, Schneeberger explains, "is on equipping parents, friends and loved ones to love the child, the friend, the co-worker [who is 'gay' or lesbian], the way that Jesus would; but also, at the same time, not compromising their own faith principles."
Actor Chad Allen, an outspoken homosexual activist who recently starred in the Christian-themed movie The End of the Spear, will be leading the march to the Focus on the Family headquarters. The march will also feature Broadway celebrity Billy Porter and Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Soulforce is describing the two-mile protest march to the Focus on the Family campus as a "justice march." The group hopes the event will bring attention to what it calls the "anti-gay dishonesty" of that Christian organization. But Schneeberger contends that it is the homosexual group's leaders, not the pro-family ministry, that has shunned honest and open dialogue.
"A year and a half ago," the Focus spokesman notes, "when [Soulforce representatives] wanted to meet with Dr. Dobson, who was out of town and could not do it, we suggested, rather than have a private meeting, let's have a public forum, held in a public place, and invite people from the public, and let's debate the issue from both sides." Soulforce, however, "refused to participate in that," he says.
"We believe this is a public issue," Schneeberger continues. "We believe this is an issue that affects the lives of all Coloradoans. That's the kind of debate we're interested in having." However, he says Focus' efforts to talk privately with Soulforce representatives have been rejected in the past.
As part of its outreach to homosexuals and others touched by the issue of homosexuality, Focus on the Family presents several "Love Won Out" conferences around the U.S. each year. These events are designed, according to the ministry, to promote the truth "that homosexuality is preventable and treatable -- a message routinely silenced today," and to let people know that freedom from homosexuality is possible.
