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Video on Sunday's Rick Warren Protest

KTLA News Story:



AllorNotAtAll.org founder Josh Einsohn speaking to crowd:

Protest at Rick Warren's Church This Morning

All the information you need is in the calendar at the bottom of the blog or more details at AllorNotAtAll.org.

DATE: Sunday, January 18, 2009

TIME: 11:00am to 2:00pm (if leaving from L.A., you’ll need to leave by 9:30am in order to drive, park, walk and be in place to start right at 11:00am.)

LOCATION: We will be standing in front of the main entrance on Portola Parkway. The address is:

1 Saddleback Parkway, Lake Forest, CA 92630

REMINDER: Try to “go” before you go, or stop on the way there if three hours might challenge your bladder. If you are in desperate need during the protest, please consider buying something at the AM/PM so that the local community is supportive.

TRANSPORTATION/CARPOOLING

Unfortunately, we were not able to arrange for buses (we’re funding this out of our own pockets, and our pockets just aren’t that deep). We wish we could guarantee everyone a ride because we want a large attendance, so we are begging some of you to offer to carpool if you have an extra seat or two as not everyone has transportation. If you can drive someone, please be at one of the following locations at 9:00am and get out your protest poster so people know you are a driver. And if you are grabbing a ride, be nice and consider offering to help out with gas.

There will be three meeting places:

1. The parking lot for the park in West Hollywood on San Vicente on the west side of the street, across from the Pacific Design Center.
2. The parking lot for the Universal City subway stop on Lankershim. (Please wait on the Lankershim side as it is a large parking lot.)
3. Any suggestions for a place in Long Beach so we can post it?

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PARKING

Park on El Toro Road:

* On the Southwest-bound side (heading back toward the 5 freeway) between Portola Parkway and Normandale.
* On BOTH sides of the street between El Toro Road and Saddleback Parkway
* Do NOT park on the Northwest-bound side (away from the 5 freeway) of El Toro Road between Normandale and Portola or you may be ticketed/towed!
* Do NOT park in the parking lot of the business across the street. We do not want a poor report card (or story in the press!) about being bad guests.

In the event that you get a ticket AND you are parked in one of the above-mentioned areas, please send an email to info@allornotatall.org after the rally and we will put you in touch with someone to void the ticket. (It couldn’t hurt to provide photographic evidence that you were parked properly.)

Please use caution while walking along El Toro Road. Traffic is dangerous and in the area where there are a lot of bushes, there are sometimes also wild animals.

SECURITY/SAFETY

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has been incredibly supportive of our event. They are concerned for our safety and they are definitely are friends, so please obey all instructions immediately. We are hoping that nobody is ticketed or arrested during this event. And be sure to thank them profusely!

If you have any questions or concerns about safety or anything else, feel free to grab one of the marshals wearing a white armband. They are representatives from the various groups attending and will help you. Please listen to their instructions as well as they will be in constant communication with the Sheriff’s Department.

GENERAL

* If you have a camera, bring it and then email us the photos afterward so we can post them!
* If you have a videocamera, please bring it and record the events. Especially the speech from Robin Tyler! We want to put together a video report very quickly afterward to share online. (If CNN isn’t there, we want to send them an iReport!)
* Bring your posters!
* Bring water, sunscreen (it may be 80 degrees) and signs if you have them.

UPDATE: Rev. Eric Lee Vs. Rev. Rick Warren

As you may recall, the Courage Campaign set up a petition for everyone to sign for Rick Warren to accept Rev. Eric Lee's invitation to an open debate on same-sex marriage (see post). Rev. Lee is the President/CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Greater Los Angeles Area. News is about to break in regards to the development of the debate - stay tuned to Unite The Fight!

UPDATE: Courage Campaign issued the following press release:

Courage Campaign Renews Debate Challenge to Rev. Rick Warren on Prop. 8, Marriage Equality

Previous Invitations for Public Forum Have Gone Unanswered by Saddleback Church

LOS ANGELES -Renewing the call of more than 25,000 Californians, the Reverend Eric Lee, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) of Greater Los Angeles, today urged the Reverend Rick Warren, Senior Pastor at Saddleback Church in Orange County, to accept the Courage Campaign's invitation to debate his views on Proposition 8 and marriage equality.

"As a result of your strong public stand on same-sex marriage, we as clergy and spiritual leaders are obligated to present the issues surrounding same-sex marriage to the people of this state, many of whom are gay and lesbian," wrote Rev. Lee in the letter to rev. Warren. "We are responsible for healing, for building bridges, for creating community, and not for dividing."

The Reverend Rick Warren was chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to deliver the invocation to the inaugural, an event expected to be viewed by millions nationwide.

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In an effort to give Warren an opportunity to explain his views on marriage equality, the Courage Campaign invited him to a public debate on same-sex marriage with Reverend Eric Lee, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) of Greater Los Angeles. The invitation was signed by more than 25,000 Courage Campaign members and delivered in person on Christmas Eve to Warren's church in Orange County.

The invitation stated "As Americans who believe in equal rights for all, we would like to invite you to a debate about Proposition 8 and same-sex marriage... While we strongly disagree with your views, we also strongly believe that your views must be debated in a public forum."

CourageCampaign.org/RickWarrenDebate

The invitation has not gotten a response.

"While President-elect Obama has chosen to ignore the troubling beliefs of the man who will spiritually usher in his presidency, Californians cannot and should not ignore Rick Warren," said Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of the Courage Campaign. "We cannot ignore Rick Warren's fervent support for Proposition 8 or his mobilization of thousands of Saddleback Church evangelical Christians to enshrine discrimination into our state constitution."

The complete text Rev. Lee's letter is below. A pdf version of the letter is available upon request.

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January 13, 2009

Rev. Rick Warren
Senior Pastor
Saddleback Church
1 Saddleback Parkway
Lake Forest, CA 92630

Dear Rev. Warren:

On Christmas Eve, my colleagues at the Courage Campaign delivered to your office an invitation to debate me here in California about our respective stances on same-sex marriage. That letter is attached. It was accompanied by the electronic signatures over 25,000 members of the Courage Campaign community here in California, which by the way includes my own father.

As a result of your strong public stand on same-sex marriage, we as clergy and spiritual leaders are obligated to present the issues surrounding same-sex marriage to the people of this state, many of whom are gay and lesbian. We are responsible for healing, for building bridges, for creating community, and not for dividing.

I recall the words of the late Coretta Scott King, who said, "Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."

While you have not responded to the Courage Campaign invitation, I count on you to respond favorably to me as fellow clergy. Prior to the inauguration, where I expect to see you, let's schedule a date in February or March for our public discussion here in our state I would very much like to be able to announce at our Martin Luther King Memorial Dinner on January 15 that you have responded favorably to this invitation.

Very Best Regards,
Rev. Eric P. Lee
President/CEO

Bishop Gene Robinson to Deliver Prayer at Obama's Inauguration

The first openly gay, ordained Episcopal bishop, Rev. Gene Robinson, has been invited by Obama's inauguration committee to give a prayer at the inauguration ceremony being held this Sunday, January 18.

Robinson had expressed distaste for Obama's pick of Rick Warren to give the invocation, saying, "it was like a slap in the face." The controversial Warren had compared homosexuality to rape and incest.

Despite his differences with Rick Warren, Robinson has accepted the invitation, stating
"It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way. Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or, in our case, a sexual minority -- just seeing someone like you up front matters."

The inaugural committee stated that it was always their plan to include the bishop.

"You're Likable Enough, Gay People"

Frank Rich, an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote a piece titled "You're Likable Enough, Gay People" about Obama and, not only his choice for Rick Warren to do the invocation at his inauguration, but his hubris which could bring more trouble ahead.

"Obama may not only overestimate his ability to bridge some of our fundamental differences but also underestimate how persistent some of those differences are," Rich writes. "The exhilaration of his decisive election victory and the deserved applause that has greeted his mostly glitch-free transition can’t entirely mask the tensions underneath. Before there is profound social change, there is always high anxiety."

And in regards to Warren, Rich states, "Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It was made with the certitude that a leader with a mandate can do no wrong."

Sunday's Rick Warren Protest

Organized by Gays United Network, a protest was held in front of Rick Warren's church this past Sunday, December 21st.

Founder of the Gay UN, Nakhone Keodara, gave the following account:

"We had about 20 people show up for the. . . peaceful protest. The only people who were abusive were the church attendees that gave us the finger on the way in or out of the services.

"One lady came out to meet us on the sidewalk and spoke with one of the attendees and based on what I was told they had a civil conversation. . . He mentioned that she even got teary-eyed during the course of their conversation.

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"One thing that stuck out in my mind was this older gentlemen driving by us twice and giving us the finger and telling us God doesn't love us. That too seems to be a common theme among the believers. He proceeded to yell at us saying that we should respect other people's beliefs.

"This protest was in response to the Obama transition team's announcement that Rev. Rick Warren has been invited to deliver the invocation at President-elect Obama's inauguration. As disappointing and painful as the news was, we wanted to send a message to Rick Warren to debate with Rev. Eric Lee. . . and to tell our president that we expected more from our President who happens to be a Constitutional lawyer, and we hoped for more from our president who's a visionary and we, too, also believed in the beauty of his dream, that change has also come to Gay America."

"Drop Rick Warren" Campaign

Thanks to our friends over at Queers United, I've been informed of a call to action to drop Rick Warren. For more information on what you can do, view the Queers United post and go to it!

Sen. Barbara Boxer on Prop 8 and Rick Warren

The Advocate.com posted an exclusive letter from Sen. Barbara Boxer that addresses both Prop 8 and Rick Warren.

Saying that her "views on marriage equality have evolved over time," she now believes "in order for full equality to exist for all of our people, you cannot have different standards when it comes to making the lifelong commitment to honor and love."

Calling the controversy over Prop 8 and its campaign "understandable," she goes on to say "[it] was not fought on the basis of the court case. It was sadly focused on false issues surrounding education in the schools, which had nothing to do with Proposition 8."

As for Rick Warren: "It is also unfortunate and perplexing that religious leaders such as Pastor Warren. . . chose to make extremely hurtful statements in support of Proposition 8. The struggle over marriage equality doesn't involve the church -- it involves civil law. The religious community can make its own determination about which marriages to perform."

Rick Warren's Response to the Controversy

UPDATE: My Two Cents on Rick Warren

UPDATE: As I stated below in my opinion piece, I felt strongly that we as a community ask Rick Warren to attend a forum to respectfully debate our differing opinions. Thankfully, the Courage Campaign has done just that, and they're asking the community to sign on the invitation to send to Rick Warren. Amazingly, Rev. Eric Lee, President of the Southern Christian Leadership (founded by MLK), is a supporter of gay marriage as well as the organization. So add your signatures to the invitation by going here. Be sure to pass this on!

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Since Obama announced that Rick Warren would be doing the invocation at his inauguration, I've been flooded with phone calls and emails about how we should react. In some cases, I was flat out asked what I think we should do as a community. There just isn't an easy answer to these questions.

After mulling it over, I decided to try and figure out what it is we're reacting to - Rick Warren's stance on Prop 8, or how he's used the pulpit and the Bible as a weapon? Many of us know people who voted Yes on Prop 8, and we've had lively yet respectful discussions with them. I don't think anyone of us would take anyone's right away to vote in a free, democratic country, or to express what they believe. Yet when it comes to Rick Warren, I believe we're reacting to his offensive words and how he uses the Bible and his religion against us. It's not about his opposition to same-sex marriage, it's about his blatant disrespect of us.

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So how do we respond? Protest his church? Bite back? Lose faith in the change that Obama has promised? I believe signing the petition that Equality California is sending to Obama, showing the President-Elect the numbers that disagree with his choice, is effective to a point. I believe contacting Obama's teams and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and voicing our opinions is effective to a point. So what do I think is most effective? In the spirit of Harvey Milk, reach out to Rick Warren's church, ask them to send representatives to an open forum where we can all respectfully discuss the issues that we disagree on. Or volunteer in the church's good-will efforts and outreaches to their community. Join them in their services. Involve ourselves with them.

BUT THE MESSAGE TO THEM NEEDS TO BE CLEAR. We're not confronting them on their stance about same-sex marriage or LGBT rights. We're confronting them on their use of religion as a weapon to further bigotry and discrimination. Two can respectfully disagree. But in this case, one forgot the respect.

Actions speak louder than words, and I whole-heartedly support direction action. But that's just one tool of many to create the bridge we must cross in order to legalize same-sex marriage. Without engaging our opponents directly, respectfully, and peacefully, and showing them our faces and those they directly affect, we're going to remain a faceless, angry mob, and that will only motivate them more to squash us.

Build bridges. Rise above. Show your face. ACT. And do it all with the respect that we don't always receive. Otherwise, will we be no better than they?

Should We Be Angrier at Obama or Warren?

UPDATE: Though I'm still mulling the editorial over, I want to add that Obama's pick for the benediction (not the invocation) is Rev. Joseph Lowery, co-founder, along with Martin Luther King, Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership, and has been outspoken in his support for gay marriage. This should not be overlooked while we decide how we feel and then react about Obama and his choice over Warren. Read USA Today.
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If you're angrier at the latter, you're not alone. Read this editorial from Time.com titled, "The Problem for Gays with Rick Warren - and Obama".

One of the more scathing quotes:

"Obama has proven himself repeatedly to be a very tolerant, very rational-sounding sort of bigot. He is far too careful and measured a man to say anything about body parts fitting together or marriage being reserved for the non-pedophilic, but all the same, he opposes equality for gay people when it comes to the basic recognition of their relationships."

I'm still mulling this over. What are your thoughts?

Also, check out the poll on Time.com's home page. It asks, "Is Rick Warren a good choice to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration?" Right now, only 51% say no.

Two Protests Being Planned at Rick Warren's Church

To avoid confusion, I wanted to post that two protests (that I'm aware of) are being planned at Rick Warren's church. Both can be found on the calendar at the bottom of the blog.

The first is being organized by Gays United Network for this Sunday, December 21st. Check out the event details on Facebook here.

The second, organized by All Or Not At All will be held January 18th, and you can find details on Facebook.

If you know more in regards to events surrounding the Rick Warren controversy, please contact me at info@unitethefight.org and I will be happy to add it to the calendar.

CNN's Inauguration Dust Up over Rick Warren

UPDATE: More information.



Rick Warren's endorsement of Prop 8:



I think many of us agree that the issue here is not that Rick Warren is against same-sex marriage, but his using the pulpit, the Bible and his religion as weapons. So want to do something about it?

Gays UN is calling for a call-in protest. They give specific instructions on how to contact the Obama team through the phone or through email, or the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. See their event instructions here on Facebook.

You can also join a peaceful protest outside of Rick Warren's church on January 18th, hosted by All Or Not At All. See details on Facebook here or on the events calendar on the bottom of this blog.

Sign EQCA's petition to President-elect Obama. Ask him to immediately rescind this despicable invitation: www.eqca.org/actioncenter