Challenging an anti-gay conference

SAN DIEGO--The San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) held two protests on March 6 in opposition to an anti-gay conference held at Skyline Church, one of the leading forces behind the campaign for the Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage in 2008. In between the protests, SAME held a pro-gay counter-conference at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The day began early with SAME members arriving at Skyline Church as participants in the "Love Won Out" conference organized by Exodus International trickled in. Exodus International tries to persuade gay and lesbian people to attend their conferences with the aim of trying to get them to give up same-sex desires.

SAME members led chants to send the message that LGBT people have nothing to apologize for and no need to "change."

But the reactionary "Love Won Out" conference wasn't the only grievance that protesters had on their minds. Skyline Church's Pastor Jim Garlow participated in "The Call," a rally held in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium with 10,000 "young pioneers" just days before Election Day 2008. The rally sought to build support for the passage of Prop 8, and a video on The Call's Web site characterized the Prop 8 battle as a war between darkness and light.

In November 2009, in the wake of Congress' passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Garlow traveled to Washington, D.C., to preach against homosexuality in what the organizers dubbed a "rally for religious freedom." Garlow was also one of the initial signatories of the Manhattan Declaration, described by some as a declaration of war on full civil rights for LGBT Americans.

AFTER GREETING Skyline conference attendees from 7 to 8:30 a.m., SAME members rode up to the "Just Love" counter-conference at St Paul's Cathedral, which was emceed by Albert Ogle, one of St. Paul's ministers.

In the storm of protests that followed the passage of Prop 8, St. Paul's congregants famously marched alongside 25,000 other San Diegans, carrying a banner that read "With love to you all." St. Paul's is one of many churches in San Diego that marries gay and lesbian congregants and openly affirms the right of gay people to live freely and openly inside their faith.

Joshua Romero, the opening speaker, shared the story of his journey to find acceptance within his own faith after coming out as a gay man, including surviving a "Love Won Out" conference he agreed to attend with his parents.

The second speaker was Michael Bussee, one of seven original founders of Exodus International who is now an opponent of it and other so-called ex-gay ministries. Bussee explained the pressures within his religious tradition that caused him to get involved in the ex-gay ministry, and how he eventually left Exodus International after falling in love with a fellow gay minister and deciding to embrace a new relationship with the man he loved.

Together, the speakers powerfully unmasked the dangers of ex-gay ministries, showing how they drive gay people to become self-hating, depressed and even suicidal. In addition, ex-gay groups are increasingly engaging in legally questionable political activities, such as lobbying for legislation at home and abroad that leads to the blocking of LGBT civil rights--even though they enjoy tax-exempt status granted to religious institutions on the grounds that they don't participate in such political advocacy.

For example, anti-gay ministries, driven by what might be called religious colonialism, pushed for the passage of laws in Uganda that will result in the deadly repression of gays. Another speaker, Wayne Besen, the founder of "Truth Wins Out," exposed the activities of right-wing religious groups like "Focus on the Family."

SAME members then returned to Skyline Church for a second round of protests during the lunch break. Members of the community honked in support, giving protesters the thumbs up. Several community members got out of their cars to join the demonstration, inspired by the energy of the protesters on the corner outside Garlow's church.

Several people on their way into the church even stopped, saying they thought the event was about how to "welcome gay people into your congregation." After spending some time on the corner with us, they went into the church to attend the conference they had already paid to enter, but might now hear with a more critical ear.

Charles Pratt contributed to this article.