Dobson Under Attack

About 800 gay-rights advocates marched at the Focus on the Family campus Sunday to show their contempt for James Dobson's views on homosexuality. The Rev. Mel White, who heads the interfaith movement Soulforce, called the gathering an intervention for Dobson and his organization. The group's members asked to meet with Dobson.

James Dobson was a wonderful family counselor," White told a crowd. "Now he is a danger to himself and the nation. ... We love him anyway." White said the rally was not intended to threaten or scare Dobson but to "set (Dobson) free from the lies that have him blinded."

Dobson and Focus on the Family advocate strongly against homosexuality and gay marriage. The group offers "Love Won Out" conferences to help "reform" homosexuals and last year campaigned for same-sex marriage bans in several states.

Melissa Fryrear, a gender- issues consultant with Focus on the Family, called Soulforce's action a publicity stunt. "Soulforce demanded a meeting with Dr. Dobson ... knowing full well he would be out of town," she said.
Dobson is scheduled to be in Washington today planning for National Day of Prayer events Thursday.
"It makes you question the genuineness of what they ask for or whether they are just attracting media," Fryrear said.She criticized Soulforce's decision not to participate in a discussion on homosexuality that Focus held last week. Fryrear said she lived as a lesbian for a decade before Focus on the Family helped her change.
She took issue with the idea that Focus singles out homosexuals.

"We believe that a family is conformed to a husband and a wife with marriage," she said. "That's the foundation of our organization. ... We also look at things like adultery - we're not singling out homosexuality." But hundreds of people who take exception with the organization's principles drove in from all over the Front Range in support of Soulforce.

Under a rainbow of colorful balloons, the crowd danced to live music, held up signs such as "We are Family too" and "Religious intolerance breeds hate and worse" and huddled around space heaters.
"We feel that this organization is saying things that are hurtful to our country," said Mary Metzger, who came with friends from various Denver churches. "We finally felt that we had to do something. Just going to the voting booth isn't enough anymore." About 140 Colorado Springs police officers observed.
A dozen protesters from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., showed up to condemn both the rally participants and Focus on the Family, which that church feels is too tolerant of gays.

For some, it was a sober day. Gabe Martinez burst into tears as White spoke of a man who killed himself because he could not reconcile his homosexuality and his Christian beliefs. Martinez said he could relate, having advocated against homosexuality for years because of his fundamentalist Christian views.
"I know Dr. Dobson because I've served him coffee" when he visited his church, Martinez said, wiping away tears."I was in the closet myself, married for 23 years because I did not want to be gay."
Martinez said he had often thought of suicide."I had to come here," Martinez said. "I need to stand against (Focus on the Family) and not apologize for being a homosexual."

He is right. Don't apologize for being homosexual, repent for being homosexual.