As a Lesbian, I have very mixed feelings on the choice. My initial reaction was anger and a sense of betrayal.

BUT, I also realized that Obama said that he wanted to be everyone’s president, that he did not want to continue politics as usual. And this is a way to reach out to conservatives that does not give them power. I would much rather he have Mr. Warren give the invocation than have a conservative right-winger appointed to the cabinet.

We need to make peace. George Bush has done a very good job of making it us vs them. I hope we can try to work together – or else we will all loose.

He hugged me = he’s not anti-gay.

Please. (vomit) Are your that desperate?

No con man has ever been successful without also being able to put his mark at ease. They are never nasty. To the contrary, they always go out of their way to flatter you. That’s how they work.

The empty slickness of “I love your work” is an entire World away from “I am happy play and pay for your songs in my Church”.

Could Rick Warren have actually NAMED a song of M.E. that he “loved”, if she had been sharp enough to put him on the spot at that very point in time???

I doubt it.

(Good grief: next thing I’m going to hear is that he has also sold her land in Florida. All above the water-table, of course.)

The con man conned you… He wanted someone from our community to speak up for him (as he couldn’t seem to locate any of his gay friends for some reason), and you delivered.

I hope you’ll learn from this, Melissa, and either be quiet about Mr. Warren in the future or denounce his bigotry.

His support for prop 8 may have cost you your marriage!!!!

http://glaadblog.org/2008/12/18/past-media-coverage-of-rick-warren/

Fox News: Hannity & Colmes – Warrens Address AIDS

12.20.07 09:00 pm – Pastor Rick and Kay Warren talk about their work with AIDS and Kay says, “I thought it was a gay disease. And for me I thought that meant I didn?t have to
care. And I was so wrong.”

ABC: Nightline – Kay Warren on AIDS

12.14.07 11:42 pm – Kay Warren, wife of pastor Rick Warren, admits she did not respond to the AIDS crisis immediately because it “was tied with homosexuality,” but now says all people with HIV/AIDS should be treated with compassion.

I’m Christian and gay, and MOST of my friends and family are/were “thrown” when they found out.

It’s been a struggle, but I’m not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Although I feel hurt and dismayed and FRUSTRATED by the understandings that many Christians hold about homosexuality, I have trouble calling it “Hate.” -maybe, institutionally… and yes, probably SOME leaders. But, by and large, I do not sense hate when I’m dealing one on one with people… and by building loving relationships, with a long-term goal of building COMMUNITY where everyone’s dignity is affirmed… that’s worth the effort.

And, come on… we know we’re right about this… so, keep plugging away. I’m betting that we have a better shot at changing hearts and minds if we reach out instead of react. (straight people don’t have our battle-begotten thick skin… you gotta talk nice or they get scared… after all, you know what they’ve been taught about the homosexual menace)

So, I’m for building bridges. I want community with affirmation and respect for all. And, as Martin Luther King, Jr was fond of saying, “the means and the ends are the same.”

If Warren just goes before the public and says he apologizes for his “choice of words,” then I’ll know he’s just trying to save his own ass.

On the other hand, if he says that he has a lot of ideas about gay people that are wrong — including those dictated by the Bible — and announces that he’ll let openly gay people become members of his church, then I’ll believe him.

One thing remains true: neither Rick Warren, nor apparently Barack Obama, get that inequality, no matter who it’s against, is morally reprehensible and should disqualify a person from any official recognition (except as a jerk) by the state. The fact that the Obama team just doesn’t seem to get that is truly sad.

Frankly, right now, my anger is much more for the Obama team than for Rick Warren. He is what he is and we all know it. Obama, on the other hand, appears to have fooled us. I should have know. With empty words like “Change we can believe in” and “Hope”, what were to expect. I’m beginning to think O is just another narcissistic politician who cares much more about his political fortunes than about the lives of everyday people. He needed some political points – and when you need to score some political points, go kick a gay (quoting a cnn commentator from last week).

I wish I could get my $2300 campaign contribution back.