The latest attempt to intimidate those who support letting the people speak on homosexual marriage is coming from a faux-church in Florida.

A Florida church launched a campaign this week to identify supporters of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage by publishing the names and addresses of 400,000 Florida residents in 60 counties.

The Internet campaign by Christ Church of Peace, a nondenominational church in Jacksonville, has been denounced by groups that support a state ballot initiative that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

Gary Debusk, pastor of Christ Church of Peace, said the church began the ''Know Thy Neighbor'' effort Monday to encourage dialogue and prevent voter-signature fraud. As the head of a congregation that supports same-sex marriage, Debusk said he also wanted to add a new perspective to a debate that he said has been dominated largely by religious conservatives. ''It's time for another voice that is Christian to be heard,'' he said.

The problem is that their voice is not a Christian one -- it speaks in a manner that is antithetical to the clear message of the bible.

And I do like this point, made by supporters of traditional marriage.

Christian groups such as the Fort Lauderdale-based Center for Reclaiming America and the Florida Family Policy Council have denounced the Web site as a misguided effort to intimidate activists.

''It's a gross invasion of people's privacy,'' said John Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council, an offshoot of James Dobson's national Christian conservative group Focus on the Family.

Stemberger argued that, if Christian conservatives published the names and addresses of gay-rights activists, they would likely be condemned as hatemongers.

''A lot of people would be outraged and say it's a hateful, un-Christian gesture,'' he said.

I'd have to agree -- and would like to remind folks that the Klan and other groups sought public records back in teh 1950s and 1960s so that folks could "Know Thy Neighbor" if they were supporters of the civil rights movement. Such methods are not designed to foster dialogue -- they are designed to intimidate, harrass, and target those with whom the sponsors disagree.

Posted by: Greg at 02:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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