CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Chicago gay activists plan to protest at the annual banquet of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, led by Peter LaBarbera (pictured), Saturday in suburban Arlington Heights.
"AFTAH claims they have nothing but Christian love for gay people, but out of the other side of their mouths, they promote Uganda's 'kill the gays' bill," said Andy Thayer, cofounder of Chicago's Gay Liberation Network and an organizer of the protest, in a press release. "'Hate the sin but love the sinner,' they say, but it's sort of hard to 'love the sinner' when he or she is dead as a result of legislation like Uganda's. It gives you an idea of what AFTAH would do in this country if given half a chance."
On the pending Uganda bill, which calls for the death penalty for gays under certain circumstances, LaBarbera wrote the following earlier this year on Americans for Truth's website: "At AFTAH, we preach Christian mercy and have denounced Talibanesque capital punishment for homosexuals in countries like Iran. But we also believe that if states and localities here in America (and governments abroad) wish to ban sodomy, they have every right to do so."
Thayer also said Americans for Truth is not a marginal group like the Westboro Baptist Church but a major player in Illinois Republican politics, having been involved in campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate and attempted to put antigay ballot measures before the state's voters.
The keynote speaker at Saturday's banquet, to be held at a Christian school, will be former pro football player Ken Hutcherson, pastor of a Baptist church in Redmond, Wash. Hutcherson has urged Redmond-based Microsoft not to support state antidiscrimination legislation and has objected to the annual Day of Silence, an observance designed to counter antigay bullying in schools.
For more about the protest, go to GayLiberation.net.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM