AL SHARPTON VS RIGHT-WING RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES

Al Sharpton, who has been a consistent and unfaltering supporter of GLBT rights, including gay marriage, has taken the Mormon church and other right-wing, religious fanatics to task.

Speaking from the pulpit of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA at the launch of the Alliance of Affirming Faith-Based Organizations, Sharpton was, as always, sharp and unyielding in his admonitions.

“I am tired of seeing ministers who will preach homophobia by day, and then after they’re preaching, when the lights are off they go cruising for trade,” Sharpton said, his words generating a roar of response from the crowd.

The Alliance was formed to counter anti-gay religious rhetoric. It was founded by Rev. Dennis Meredith, who recently came out as bisexual, and includes Dr. Kenneth Samuel, pastor of Victory for the World Church; Rev. Paul Graetz of First Metropolitan Community Church; Rev. Geoffrey Hoare of All Saints Episcopal Church; and Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Congregation Bet Haverim.

“We’re going to be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Meredith said. “If we have to go to a high school, we’ll go to a high school. If we have to go to a college, we’ll go to a college. … Somewhere there has to be a religious voice to counter the other religious voices that preach intolerance.”

Sharpton continued his diatribe by saying:

“We know you’re not preaching the Bible, because if you were preaching the Bible we would have heard from you. We would have heard from you when people were starving in California, when they deregulated the economy and crashed Wall Street you had nothing to say. When [alleged Ponzi schemer Bernie] Madoff made off with the money, you had nothing to say. When Bush took us to war chasing weapons of mass destruction that weren’t there you had nothing to say. … But all of a sudden when Proposition 8 came out you had so much to say, but since you stepped in the rain, we gonna step in the rain with you.”

“It amazes me when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being delegated into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners,” Sharpton told a packed audience on January 11th.

“There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people’s bedrooms and claim that God sent you.”

Sharpton will serve as the national face of the Alliance and help to recruit new members. I don't think they could have picked a better or more articulate spokesperson than him.

To read the full story, go to: The Southern Voice

ADDENDUM...
I just found this video at Box Turtle Bulletin. It's from a YouTube posting by the American News Project website. It's very appropo to Reverend Sharpton's comments above and reinforces his criticism about monies being spent fighting gay marriage instead of helping people who need it.

It runs about 7:19 minutes but it's well worth the time spent...