Freedom Forgotten by Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. (opposes equal marriage, Washington D.C.)

[Duncan Grant]

Bishop Harry Jackson is chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition and senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md. He co-authored Personal Faith, Public Policy.

Let’s be clear about one thing: the only civil right at issue here is the people’s right to vote. Those supporting the redefinition of marriage have repeatedly attempted to align themselves with the historic struggles of blacks. Indeed, during the debates on the “Same-Sex Marriage” bill, council member Catania invoked President Andrew Johnson’s vetoing of an 1865 Congressional law granting black men suffrage in the District.

But redefining marriage has nothing to do with the historic civil rights struggle in this country. The civil rights once denied to black Americans included several things: first, the right to vote, second, the right to use public facilities; third, the inalienable right to a fair hearing; and fourth, the right to education in an integrated school.

Let me pose the following questions: Have those supporting the redefinition of marriage been denied any of these rights? Have they been forced to sit in the back of buses? Confined to segregated neighborhoods? Barred from serving on juries? Subjected to systematic economic exploitation?

Plainly, suggesting that the people of the District should be the ones deciding whether the city should reject the timeless definition of marriage deprives no one of civil rights. For if opposing the redefinition of marriage is like opposing civil rights, then my fellow voters and I are no better than racists, the moral equivalent of those who turned the fire hoses on blacks in Birmingham in 1963.

Freedom Forgotten by Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. (The Christian Post, 2/2/10)

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Yeah - no comparison at all. Have black folks ever been denied the

right to marry?

I mean, well, since that slavery thing?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[GodlessBiker]

4. The Bishop is a horse's ass.

[QC]

5. And not even a real bishop. n/t

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[Starry Messenger]

6. He should reread his last sentence there.

And listen to the wise words of Julian Bond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZQEXTMM1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiHxMhVA5GA

[Toasterlad]

7. "my fellow voters and I are no better than racists..."

Exactly, asshole.

[Duncan Grant]

8. Only 7 of 20 posts remain. Was there another gay rapture in this forum?

;)

[mitchtv]

16. I was among them

without a trace!!! the troll is ts'd at least so I don't care(except for the momentary confusion). I felt I was exteremly polite, considering.

[Duncan Grant]

9. Do civil rights movements inform and influence one another? Isn't this the progressive path?

I think it's a perfectly legitimate act to compare and contrast the injustices perpetrated upon all people throughout all history -- as well as the strategies and events that forever changed the systems of power. Bishop Jackson's advocacy to revoke previously sanction civil rights is antithetical to any truths learned from prior (and current) movements.

This is a real forest for the trees moment -- and I'm not talking about apple and orange trees either.

[Toasterlad]

10. Most Rational People Can Easily See the Similarities Between the Civil Rights Struggles of Today

and those of the 50's and 60's. The kindest word for the people who can't is "bigot".

[joeybee12]

13. Very good point, when you compare you inevitably also contrast...

Great counterpoint.

[Toasterlad]

14. Indeed. No One's Claiming That Gay People Face the Exact Same Struggles That Black People Did

But to deny the similarities of two oppressed groups requires a conscious effort of bigotry.

[joeybee12]

15. Yup...but when you try to explian that, there's too often a knee-jerk

reaction...it's frustrating.

[sui generis]

11. the problem is they keep saying "re-defining marriage"

In the government marriage is not a "definition", but a right to assign your property and heirs. The lack of equal marriage is a redefinition of rights - some Americans are more equal than others.

What this blowhard doesn't get is that it is absolutely WORSE to discriminate against someone because of an idea, because of something you can only be accused of, cannot be "proven", and otherwise can only be admitted to. Ultimately it's a condemnation of people for WHO they are, not for their skin color, and that's where this man shows he is not only not a christian but also not an American.

[TokenQueer]

17. Straight people "redefined" marriage...

...when women decided they no longer wanted to be the property of their fathers and husbands.

[joeybee12]

12. Wow! name Removed must have had a field day with this one.

"Timeless"???? Study some history your nitwit faux-bishop.