Legislature Gay Prayer Angers Virginia Lawmakers

“Holy One, convict those who are using their power not to lead or to guide but to harm the gay and lesbian citizens, a small minority in this commonwealth.”

That was the prayer offered by Rev. Debra Peevey of the Journey of the Heart Ministries in Reston, Virginia. It was the invocation to open Friday’s House of Delegates floor session.

In her prayer, Peevey took note of legislation the House has embraced this year to ban same-sex marriage and make it difficult for gays to adopt children. [...]

That didn’t sit well with conservatives in the House. The usual “Amen” chorus at the end of the prayer was noticeably muted.

“I thought it was very inappropriate myself,” said Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County. “This individual basically said we were using our power to harm gay or lesbian citizens.” (source)

It amazes me the amount of hypocrisy some lawmakers have. I would say that when a legislative body puts forth legislation that keeps marriage from being a reality for our community, thereby giving us only second-class status, that it is harmful to gay and lesbian citizens. The rejection from that is having it’s toll on our community. I think they should be held accountable for that. I think they should understand the message they are sending to people and to the young gay people out there who are trying so hard to secure happiness in their future.

I think it is important to point out that they would rather have children remain without homes rather than have gay and lesbian people be able to adopt those children. That would have been the law of the state had some more enlightened lawmakers not done their part to defeat this mean spirited piece of legislation.

I honestly don’t understand how they can sit back and come up with all this crap legislation that is so degrading to our community, then turn around and take offense when someone suggests to them that they are harming our community.

So many people with no sense of compassion. It’s sad.