Preachers

There have been a number of “Preachers” on YouTube who have been marching through Target or in front of schools who have been preaching their own brand of hate. One person who was preaching hate in front of a school got hit in the head with a baseball bat, I do not condone violence, the girl who did it got arrested and the preacher “denied that he was responsible for the attack by inciting the violence.”

When will some churches stop treating transgender people as modern-day lepers?NOLA.com
By Robert Mann
May 27, 2016


Theodore Parker, the 19th century Unitarian minister and abolitionist, was right: "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." History takes a circuitous route, but it inexorably gravitates toward acknowledging the dignity and inherent worth of every person. Fitfully – and with some maddening steps backward – minorities, immigrants, refugees and other marginalized people will continue to earn greater rights and wider public acceptance.

And, eventually, perhaps 10 years hence, we will glance back at today's nasty, politically motivated struggle over transgender rights and ask, "What, exactly, did we fight about?"

I've given up hope that Louisiana's political leaders will soon muster the courage to "bend toward justice" on LGBT issues. That's one reason, as a person of faith, I find it particularly tragic that so many religious leaders lack the fortitude to lead their flocks towards greater acceptance of gay and transgender individuals. And I'm not talking about hate mongers in the style of Tony Perkins, Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson.

I do not think that these churches will ever stop hating LGBT people because it fills their collection plates and focuses their members away from the real issues.

It's beyond tragic that gay, lesbian and transgender people often find no place of comfort in their faith communities. Certainly, many churches have embraced LGBT individuals. The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the Reform Jewish Movement and the Unitarians, to name a few, not only perform same-sex weddings; they have also ordained LGBT pastors or rabbis. These are, however, still a minority.

These churches have to do more than embrace us; they have to speak up for us. It is not until they make their voices heard that there will be change.

Also the media has to stop focusing on the negative and have religious leaders  on their shows that support  us. But that will never happen because someone shouting damnation and hate bring in viewers while a preacher who says that trans people should be allowed to use the bathroom of their gender identity does bring in viewers.

In addition, the Republicans Party uses LGBT issues as a way to get donations and rally their conservative base, to take away the attention from the fact that even with a Republican control Congress they are fighting among themselves.