In response to an
uproar from gay activists, Democrat Barack Obama's
presidential campaign on Wednesday added a gay minister to
the lineup for its weekend gospel tour.
Gay activists had
criticized Obama's ''Embrace the Change'' tour in South
Carolina because the performers included gospel singer
Donnie McClurkin, who says homosexuality is a choice
and has called it a "curse."
Obama's campaign
invited the Reverend Andy Sidden, a South Carolina
pastor who is gay, to appear on Sunday in Columbia. Obama
discussed Sidden's inclusion Thursday with Joe
Solmonese, president of the gay rights group Human
Rights Campaign.
In a statement,
Solmonese said he thanked Obama for including Sidden but
told the Illinois senator he was disappointed McClurkin will
remain part of the program.
''There is no
gospel in Donnie McClurkin's message for gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender people and their allies,''
Solmonese said. ''That's a message that certainly
doesn't belong on any presidential candidate's
stage.''
McClurkin is a
Grammy award-winner who performed at the Republican
National Convention in 2004. He told AP Radio in an
interview in September that he was ''once involved
with those desires and those thoughts,'' but God
turned him away from them.
Obama has spoken
out against homophobia, including homophobia among
blacks. He supports civil unions for same-sex couples but
not the right for them to marry. (Nedra Pickler,
AP)
