Video: Rick Perry's Remarks at "The Response" Event

Rick Perry, whose Saturday prayer rally drew some 30,000 attendees, lamented a "nation in crisis" and faced protests outside Houston's Reliant Stadium by gay rights activists who blasted the Texas governor for his event's ties to the virulently antigay American Family Association.

"Lord, you are the source of every good thing," Perry said in his 13-minute speech, which included Scripture passages and a prayer request for President Barack Obama. "You are our only hope, and we stand before you today in awe of your power and in gratitude for your blessings, and humility for our sins. Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government, and as a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness."

GetEqual, which organized a Saturday protest, called the AFA-financed prayer rally "one more example of religion-based bigotry that helps ... send the message that discriminating against one particular group is okay."

"Our Governor invited, and therefore endorsed, groups to preach hate in our state," said Michael Diviesti, GetEqual's Texas State Lead Organizer.

"The American Family Association and the Family Research Council empower the bullies that are driving our youth to suicide and the murderers who kill out of hatred and ignorance," Diviesti said.

Read the Houston Chronicle report on The Response here.