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)