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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyDecember 16th, 2008
The Wasilla Bible Church in Wasilla, Alaska, burned Friday night. Investigators have discovered that an accelerant was poured at several locations around the church, including the exits, and set afire. The fact that the fire was set at the church’s exits is particularly disturbing because five members of the congregation were inside at the time. No one was injured, but the fire caused more than $1 million in damage.
Wasilla Bible Church became famous when one of its members, Alaska governor Sarah Palin, became the GOP vice-presidential candidate. The church became embroiled in controversy when it was learned that it was promoting a Love Won Out ex-gay conference in nearby Anchorage. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which is leading the arson investigation, issued a statement saying, “There is no information that the fire was politically motivated.”
Which of course, explains why anti-gay extremists are putting the accusation out there that “radical homosexual activists” are responsible (“we don’t know if this arson and attempted murder was perpetrated by advocates of homosexual marriage…”). I mean, who else could it be? Certainly not bored teenagers, a disgruntled church or community member, someone with a personal ax to grind against a particular church member, or perhaps someone with a mental illness. No siree, it couldn’t be any of those.
I know what it is to be the victim of an arson fire based on firsthand experience. It’s very unsettling, to say the very least. The people of Wasilla Bible Church will most certainly rebuild the charred walls of their church. I hope they will also be able to quickly rebuild the sense of safety they found within those walls. And I hope the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice, whoever they are. Even if they are “radical homosexual activists.”
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elaygee
December 16th, 2008
You’d think that their almighty god would protect them from such evil doers, betcha?
HappyCat
December 16th, 2008
Blame Teh Gays. Why not? We must be one powerful group to cause wild fires, hurricanes, tornados, flash floods, you name it.
I don’t want churches burnt down, I want them taxed and a burnt down church doesn’t have much taxable value.
Jarred
December 16th, 2008
I echo your sentiments about both the church’s efforts to rebuild and that the perpetrator(s) be brought to justice quickly.
Rick
December 16th, 2008
Would this make the national news if it had not been Sarah Palin’s church?
David
December 16th, 2008
“Would this make the national news if it had not been Sarah Palin’s church?”
No. Over the years, several MCC’s (a GLBTQ denomination) have been targeted by arsonists, without hardly a ripple in the press.
Timothy Kincaid
December 16th, 2008
We do not know if this arson and attempted murder was actually perpetrated by Eugene Delgaudio himself, but it follows his countless other recent attacks.
Delgaudio is my first suspect. He’s just the type to do it. Rumor (which I’m starting right now) says that he’s an arsonist with a long history of burning down churches. And I’m suspicious that he may have recently flown to Alaska.
So I’m not saying it’s true that Delgaudio personally struck the match but this certainly seems like what he’d do. Hint hint.
REALITY CHECK
OK. Of course I don’t really think that Delgaudio did this. In fact I would be downright shocked.
But his evidence against gays is no greater than I have against him. It’s just false accusation disguized as speculation intended to demonize gay folk for the advancement of Delgaudio’s personal, religious, and political goals.
This is exactly what is forbidden by the ninth commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
AJD
December 16th, 2008
First we get blamed for the white powder and burned Book of Mormon, and now we’re being blamed for this.
Even if it’s entirely possible that a disgruntled gay person is behind each of these incidents, no suspects have been arrested and no convictions have been made.
I recall from my experience in crime reporting that you should never convict someone in print. If the Becket Fund and Delgaudio were making these accusations against named individuals, they could be sued for libel.
John
December 16th, 2008
Putting accelerant in exits may be just continuing to pour the gasoline as you are walking out the building, but it also really raises the issue of trying to kill people. It seems like a big building, but if you are going to commit a crime that could land you in jail for the rest of your life, you would probably survey the parking lot and see if anyone is there.
Where I am leading with this is that it is very suspicious for the perpetrators actually trying to hurt or kill people. For that kind of anger, I would look closer to home for a person or people with a real grudge either against the church or one of the people who was in the church when it started burning.
It doesn’t sound like the local authorities are chasing after mythical gay fire bombing terrorists, but instead following the clues wherever they lead. I hope they catch the criminal(s). All too often these sorts of crimes go unsolved.
SharonB
December 16th, 2008
Any financial difficulties at the church? Anyone embezzling funds? Any disgruntled former members?
Why is teh gay always the first suspect to these haters?
John
December 16th, 2008
Apparently Mr. Delgaudio has forgotten one of the Right’s biggest complaints against the Left since at least the Clarence Thomas hearings. The following quote came from some Democrat during that time, or so I’ve heard:
“The nature of the evidence is irrelevant; it’s the seriousness of the charge that matters”.
Hypocrisy, Mr. Delgaudio? Naaaaaaah of course not! /sarc
Well gee, I can think of at least two more just-as-plausible scenarios using Mr. Delgaudio’s tissue-paper thin standard of evidence:
“We do not know if this arson and attempted murder was perpetrated by angry Republicans blaming Palin for Obama winning the presidency, but the former Veep candidate has been the target of verbal attacks by the many Republicans (all dastardly liberal RINOs of course) and their apologists in the major media.”
AND…
“We do not know if this arson and attempted murder was perpetrated by Eugene Delgaudio, seeking to mislead the general public by lying and placing the blame on gays in order to generate sympathy for his own bigoted agenda.”
Jack
December 18th, 2008
Well, we did cause the tsunami and 9-11, a little fire isn’t out of our power scope… :)
I thought we were innocent until proven guilty. Has any gays stepped up to these charges?
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