July 31, CNN,
"Black pastors group launches anti-Obama campaign around gay marriage"
A group of conservative black pastors are responding to President Barack Obama’s support of same-sex marriage with what they say will be a national campaign aimed at rallying black Americans to rethink their overwhelming support of the President, though the group’s leader is offering few specifics about the effort.
The Rev. Williams Owens, who is president and founder of the Coalition of African-Americans Pastors and the leader of the campaign, has highlighted opposition to same-sex marriage among African-Americans. He calls this campaign “an effort to save the family.”
Today, from the Washington Blade:
Black clergy members decried President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage during a news conference on Friday as a betrayal of the black civil rights movement as they admitted limited financial ties to the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage.
Rev. William Owens, founder and president of the Coalition of African-American Pastors, held the conference standing along with a group of nearly 30 black religious leaders as part of the organization’s annual leadership summit, which this year took place at the Hyatt Regency in Arlington, Va.
“The president sold us out,” Owens said. “He is in the White House because of the civil rights movement and mainly because of the African-American community, who voted for him 97 percent to be president. He sold us out for money — no other way. The African-American community represents 13 percent of the population, the gay and lesbian community represents three percent. So it wasn’t for the votes; it was for the money. I called him Judas then, and I call him Judas now.”
Wait, who sold out? Who betrayed who for a few pieces of silver?
NOM President, Brian Brown
In the wake of internal documents from NOM leaked earlier this year, Owens was asked by CNN’s Dan Merica about having a connection with the anti-gay group. The pastor confirmed the anti-gay group compensates him.
“They pay my salary,” Owens said. “My wife … has an earned doctorate from Vanderbilt University and I have three degrees, we make a combined salary of $20,000 a year because they were kind enough to pick us up, because we did not have funds, and they said we can put you in the budget for $20,000. So we are in relationship with them and I’m very proud of it.”
Okay.
Okay, so you're proud of being on the payroll of some very wealthy, white Catholics, undermining the first African American president. Okay. Just confirming.
Carry on.
Oh, and there's also this from New Testament, Matthew 21:
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all of them who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves. And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."
Just thought maybe you, Rev. Owens, and your co-conspirators Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown might have missed it, as much time as you spend cherry-picking the Old Testament.
(Continue reading below the fold.)
Related faith news coming out of Washington state:
Referendum 74 asks voters to
approve the marriage equality act passed by the Washington state legislature, making marriage equality law of the state. So this Presbyterian church is communicating its endorsment of gay marriage.
And guess what? The LGBT community didn't have to bribe the Bethany Presbyterian Church to stand up for equality and endorse Washington state's marriage quality bill.