Former AFA Staffer Sees the Light

Pam at Pam's House Blend has an outstanding Q&A exchange with former (anti-gay) American Family Association lawyer and columnist Joe Murray. Murry, who is no longer with the AFA, and who wrote some anti-gay screeds while there, has had a road to Damascus conversion. He no longer sees homosexuals as the grave threat to society and morals and has taken the AFA to task publicly for demonizing an entire class of people. Recently, he wrote an article condemning the AFA for supporting Gen. Pace's comments that homosexuals were "immoral:"

The American Family Association, a pro-family organization and former employer of this writer, sprung into action sending out this "action alert": "Homosexuals working to get Marine general punished for comments calling homosexual act immoral."

AFA then warned that the homosexual lobby "already forced [Pace] to back down a step," and urged supporters to defend Pace and "take a stand for our troops who cannot get involved in this political situation." AFA, like others, had pulled out its red herring.

This is not a political situation, but instead it is a situation where a high ranking official made comments that judged individuals, not ideas. Pace singled out gay soldiers during a time of war and told these men and women that they were immoral. His comments, as a military official, were over the line and not defensible.

AFA, like other "Christian" groups, chose to run to Pace's aid and such an act suggests borderline bigoted behavior from an organization claiming the mantle of Christianity. This is disturbing.

Pam Spaulding emailed Murray, who agreed to an email Q&A with her. An excerpt from Murray:

How could preachers preach such vehement messages towards gays when it was clear that the Bible was unclear at best, and silent at worse, on the issue? Why recklessly condemn a group of individuals? Why fixate on them when your congregation is knee deep in divorce (Jesus had some pretty clear words on that issue)? And as for gluttony, how could preachers lecture gays on restraint when churches host pot luck dinner after pot luck dinner and not be deemed hypocritical?

It was this hypocrisy that caused me to open my eyes. Those on the Christian right, for whatever reasons, have become fixated on homosexuality. They are obsessed by it and perverse form of vengeance appears to be fueling their inquisition. I may be wrong, but I think actions are speaking much louder than words here.

Read the whole exchange here.