Florida church exposes foes of same-sex marriage  | News | Advocate.com

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06/24/06-06/26/06
Florida church exposes foes of same-sex marriage

A gay-friendly church in Jacksonville, Fla., is turning heads and sparking debate by publishing on its Web site a list of Floridians who signed a petition voicing opposition to same-sex marriage, reports News4Jax.com.

The Christ Church of Peace has made public not only the names but also the addresses of 400,000 foes of marriage equality. Opponents of same-sex marriage in the state need 100,000 more signatures to qualify the issue for the 2008 ballot. Floridians would then vote on whether to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage, although it’s already illegal in the state.

The same-sex marriage debate, once a relatively quiet matter in Jacksonville, has been stirred up because of the Christ Christ of Peace’s actions.

“I think it’s a right of privacy,” Floridian Beverly Hughes told News4Jax.com. “If you want it on [the Web site], you should put it on, not somebody else.”

The Reverend Gary Debusk of the Christ Church of Peace thinks the outing of marriage equality foes will have a positive outcome by creating dialogue on both sides, he told News4Jax.com.

A similar situation happened in Massachusetts last year when a pro-gay group called Know Thy Neighbor published the names of people trying to overturn that state’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage. (The Advocate)

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