At D.C. confab,
antigay activists rip LGBT rights movement

Religious conservatives attacked what they called the "gay agenda" in Washington, D.C., this week at a conference dedicated to injecting Christian values into the 2006 election campaign. The two-day conference, titled "The War on Christians and the Values Voters of 2006," hoped to restore Judeo-Christian values to government and the country. Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council said that while his organization does not hate gay people, it believes families should be based only on traditional married unions that can bear children. But Sprigg and other activists condemned what they called the "gay agenda." They said liberal groups promote not just acceptance but affirmation and celebration of gay life as normal and even desirable. The right-wing Cybercast News Service reports that the leaders debated whether gays should be referred to as homosexuals or sodomites and whether they should express opposition to just homosexual behavior or to hate the sinner as well. They produced a "Values Voters Contract With Congress," similar to the 1994 "Contract With America," outlining conservative values they want lawmakers to implement in the new Congress. And they called on President Bush to talk more about a federal marriage amendment banning same-sex marriage. The Reverend Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition said Christians have fared poorly in recent years because they are nice guys and nice guys finish last. (Sirius OutQ News)