Just when you think you've heard it all. Just when you think people have gone as FAR as they could to get some media attention, someone says something to prove that there is really no end to how far people will go to get the spotlight shined on them. Even if it means being unabashedly fearful, ignorant, insecure, grossly misinformed, and maybe just a little bit of stupid (remember, ignorance is "I just don't know", stupidity is "I don't know, and I don't care to find out") to be accepted by the mainstream.

Rev. Foster has sent out numerous press releases trying to get support for his mission to "call black gays and lesbians" back home so they can start living how God originally intended all men and women to live…. Free from unwanted homosexual desires. That's quite a lofty and noble mission. What makes it so sad is the fact that people like Rev. Foster actually believe that God is SO small and one dimensional, that His Divine intent was for EVERYONE to be the same. Doesn't the fact that we are all HUMAN, but with diverse life experiences speak to the majesty and glory of God? I just can't imagine why God, in ALL His wisdom, would create us in ALL our diversity, only to say "my original intent was for you all to act, walk, talk, live, think, and BE just alike".

It's reprehensible to think that someone who knows what it's like to be enslaved and abused by Theo-centric Slave Owners (TSO's or "so-called" pastors), would want to become one himself. Hmm…maybe that's the only way to feel like you're actually worth something. What better way to get some clout or gain some respect than become a TSO and start building a plantation where you can enslave and abuse people who are just like you "say" you once were? Maybe if you are convincing enough, you can get those with the BIG plantations to say your name amongst their friends and they'll support you in your quest to become like them. They'll make you a part of their boys club (cuz it STILL ain't no women in the club). They'll even give you some tips on how to be more effective at it. Maybe some of the power they exercise over their slaves will rub off on you, and you'll be able to build schools, hotels, gyms, etc. with the slave's money, and charge them to use what they built so you can make more money! Look at the power and control you'd have!

The following are statements Rev. Foster makes in the press…

"At the core of arguments by marriage-minded homosexuals is neither love or commitment but a thirst for an estimated 1,049 benefits currently afforded to married heterosexuals…. These marriage benefits are rarely thought of by heterosexual couples when getting married."

Heterosexuals don't think about the 1,049 marriage benefits when they are getting married because THEY DON'T HAVE TO. It's automatic. It's even expected. Nobody is trying to deny them those rights. If things were a little different, and someone was trying to legally deny heterosexual people these rights, SOMEONE would be screaming and making noise about it. TRUST ME! And the thought that ALL HETEROSEXUALS get married because they are in love and want to be committed to each other is lunacy. Who knows the number of people who got married out of convenience, because a child was on the way, for citizenship, or to cover up their sexuality to avoid this very discrimination. Let's not even mention the bulk of those who oppose same-gender marriage and talk about the "sanctity of this sacred institution" are on their 2nd or 3rd marriages themselves.

Yet there are many Same Gender Loving people who ARE in love, and have been in committed relationships for innumerable years, and their relationship/union isn't recognized by law. So they can't have access to bereavement leave, immigration, insurance, tax breaks, veteran's discounts, visitation rights, and Social Security survivor benefits. Now, come on…is that REALLY a fair way to treat people who pay the SAME taxes that you do? I think not!

This is the statement that really got me…"Let's settle this once and for all. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said absolutely nothing and did absolutely nothing to support homosexuality. There is not one single quote on record anywhere that can be attributed to Dr. King in support of homosexuality…those who invoke his name and legacy as a defense of this moral mischoice ought to be ashamed for assassinating the dream all over again."

Dr. Martin Luther King said…"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."? Does this not mean whatever affects me (a same gender loving man), affects YOU (a proclaimed ex-same gender loving man)? We are in this thing together whether you accept it or not. And GOD created it that way. Contrary to Pastor Foster's opinion, for anyone to take the words of Dr. King and use them to exclude or discriminate against anyone is assassinating the dream! Get it right! Furthermore, who would know Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. better than his wife? Who knew the dream before the world did because she was one with him in spirit and in body? You got it…. Mrs. Coretta Scott King. She can say, with more authority than ANYBODY can whether or not Dr. King would support the eradication of unjust laws that discriminate against same gender loving people. And you know what? SHE DID…

"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice," she said. "But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'" "I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people," she said. - Reuters, March 31, 1998.

Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood," King stated. "This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group." - Chicago Defender, April 1, 1998, front page.

Mrs. King said, days before the 30th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968, "the civil rights movement thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion." - Chicago Sun Times, April 1, 1998, p.18.

"For many years now, I have been an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people…Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Ga. and St. Augustine, Fla., and many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement," she said. "Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and I salute their contributions." - Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1998, sec.2, p.4.

We have a lot more work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say "common struggle" because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination. - Opening Plenary Session, 13th annual Creating Change conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia, November 9, 2000.

For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law.... I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. My husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." On another occasion he said, "I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible." Like Martin, I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others. So I see this bill as a step forward for freedom and human rights in our country and a logical extension of the Bill of Rights and the civil rights reforms of the 1950's and '60's. The great promise of American democracy is that no group of people will be forced to suffer discrimination and injustice. - Remarks, press conference on the introduction of ENDA, Washington, DC, June 23, 1994.

Now, Pastor Foster, go tell Mrs. Coretta what her husband stood for. Write HER a letter informing her that her husband was not fighting for equality for all people, since you know better than she does what he was fighting for.

Why is it that people feel it necessary to beat other people down, dehumanize them, and deny them equality just so they can feel powerful and important? I'm not saying that Rev. Foster is wrong. I AM saying however, the ministry he has IS NOT for EVERYBODY! It IS possible for you to minister to people who are seeking God to change them without infringing on the rights of those who are at peace with God and who they were created to be. Everyone is not seeking God for the same thing. And that should be respected. Yes, God CAN change people's sexuality…just like He CAN change the color of a person's skin. There is NOTHING too hard or impossible for Him. So why is it so hard to see that God CAN (and did) create people with a different sexual orientation? If a person can be born a hermaphrodite, then CERTAINLY God can create a man or woman with love and sexual attraction to the same gender (maybe it's Divine population control).

Why is equality for ALL PEOPLE such a threat to Pastor Foster and those who agree with him? What does he have to lose if same gender loving people have equal rights? Could this whole thing be about a need be called a "great man" by mainstream Christianity? Could it be that this crusade is a smoke screen hiding something else? I mean, if Pastor Foster is indeed delivered from "being gay", why even use the term GAY to define himself (ex-GAY)? If he is truly delivered, then isn't he "straight" now? Or maybe he hasn't EARNED the right to be called "straight" by the church yet, so he must prove himself to them with this crusade. It's a sad commentary indeed for someone to not be strong enough spiritually or emotionally to just BE who they are, so they have to jump through hoops like some circus animal in every aspect of their lives to gain acceptance from people who have convinced them that they are less than what God intended them to be. It would be healthier to seek God for oneself. It would be better to seek God for the strength to just BE who you really are. I thought God's original intent was for humanity to have relationship with HIM. So why not seek for HIS acceptance. And if people have problems with that, let it be THEIR problem.