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Rev. Louie Giglio
What a difference four years makes, I guess….
Anti-gay pastor Louie Giglio is no longer scheduled to speak from the same podium Barack Obama will use to address the nation in his second Inaugural Address. Unlike the intransigence encountered by LGBT forces arrayed against Pastor Rick™ Warren four years ago, this controversy lasted only about 24 hours, with a swift and acceptable resolution.
The minister selected by President Obama to deliver the benediction at his inaugural later this month has withdrawn from the program amid a storm of controversy over remarks he made about homosexuality in a sermon in the mid-1990s, according to a source close to the inaugural committee.
The minister, the Rev. Louie Giglio, founder of the Passion Conferences, an Atlanta organization that brings college students together in prayer and worship, withdrew Thursday morning, a day after the sermon came to light.
Everyone’s claiming credit for publicizing this, but I’ll simply thank everyone here who signed the White House petition. We all made this happen, through concerted publicity and online action.
The move came after ThinkProgress reported Wednesday that in the 1990s, Giglio had given a lengthy sermon in which he advocated for dangerous “ex-gay” therapy for gay and lesbian people, referenced a biblical passage often interpreted to require gay people be executed, and impelled Christians to “firmly respond to the aggressive agenda” and prevent the “homosexual lifestyle” from becoming accepted in society.
But, as Atrios asks, where do they find these people in the first place?
Photo by cmcentral under Creative Commons license
42 Comments
Nice work by you and all.
Statement from the Human Rights Campaign, which was being urged by Michaelangelo Signorile to boycott the inaugural:
Yeah, this feels much better than four years ago.
People forget how mixed LGBT reactions were on Election Day 2008: losing the Prop 8 fight while electing Obama was a decidedly mixed day. And then, having a major Prop 8 proponent (Pastor Rick™) chosen to speak, after Team Obama never objected to his own voice and image being used in the bigots’ California advertising materials? That was just awful.
This is much better.
Thanks, Teddy. I’ll eat my hat now. I ranted a bit last night about this saying that there was “no way” Giglio would be removed. Color me, for once, suprised. But I am thorougly GLAD to be wrong in this case.
One does have to *wonder* though who suggested Giglio in the first place, and why he was originally chosen.
Seriously. There’s gotta LOADS of very wonderful pastors/ministers who could do this who don’t carry any baggage like this.
I don’t get it.
Glad to hear this, though. Thanks for the update.
Not only “where do they find these people” but why don’t they check them out thoroughly?
I’ll wait to see who they pick now before I get too enthusiastic.
And the bottom line is why they have prayers at the inauguration for a (supposedly) secular office? (Yeah, well, y’know…)
Giglio wasn’t removed, he withdrew. So you weren’t wrong.
The statement by the inauguration committee sounds as if they asked him to
withdraw and admitted that they knew nothing about his past statements. (?) They should have but I’ll celebrate his departure.
ah, I see. hmmmm. Agree also that while it’s a good thing that Giglio withdrew, I guess I now won’t hold my breath to see who’s next on the list.
To say that asking Giglio is tone-deaf is putting it mildly. gah.
Speaking only for myself, I’d just as soon dispense with having any religious types giving invocations and what have you at the Inauguration. It doesn’t sit well with me, even when it’s someone who delivers a “good” talk/prayer/sermon or whatever it is. But that’s just me, and I know that this won’t change.
Stupid? or CYA? or Both?
Pretty weak & pathetic if ya ask me.
Kudos, Teddy to yourself and everyone else who brought this to wide attention. Saw your post late last night and signed the petition, but I must admit I didn’t think much would come of it. Watch for Barry to put him on the tax money to snake handlers committee to make up for it.
Well said msmolly, well said.
Teddy, thank you for yours and everyone who participated in forcing the issue.
Congrats Teddy and to all who signed the petition. Wow
This is progress, huh?
My sentiments exactly. Who the hell was in charge of due diligence?
And it boggles my mind that the Obama White House still thinks it can “reach out” to right-wing evangelical Christians.
It boggles my mind, too. Obama probably still thinks he can, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
For a guy who takes forever in making decisions, Obama makes pretty bad ones.
While Giglio said he withdrew, what he’s saying here is akin to the embattled CEO who meets with the frustrated board of directors, then announces his retirement saying “I’ve decided to spend more time with my family”. Technically true, but make no mistake: he was pushed. He was pushed hard, and he was pushed fast.
Someone sat down with him and laid out the situation very bluntly: “You’ve got two choices. Tomorrow, either (A) you make a statement saying that you no longer believe what your old sermon says, or (B) you say you are stepping aside so that the uproar over that sermon doesn’t overshadow the inauguration. We’re not asking you to change your beliefs, but you’re not going to step on the main event.”
Note, please, that Giglio chose (B).
Thanks for helping put the pressure on, Teddy. Without it, that conversation about (A) and (B) never would have happened.
not so much “where do they find these people” (because they’re all over), but “why would a President want to give a bigot the stage, again?).
From Rick Warren to Chuck Hagel to Louie Giglio, Obama has never met a hate mongering homophobe that he didn’t like.
Teddy, did you see my comment and link in your post re: the pastor about the poet for the day? Richard Blanco, exciting.
Invitation/withdrawal all a kabuki bone to LGBTs? Aren’t we assuming now that everything that happens is exactly what Zero/PTBs want?
Not to worry; I’m sure the committee to reelect could reach out to Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, since he’s not as ambivalent toward teh gay as Obama seems by his choice of investiture clerics.
LOL!
Yes, I did — that’s great.
Good. Apparently, HRC got off the dime pretty damn quick and did the job they collect millions of dollars to do. I may consider scratching them off my shit list. (I cancelled my membership in ’06 after they showed their love for Holy Joe.)
The statement from the Presidential Inaugural Committee was remarkably candid and strong. Nice to see they didn’t mince any words, and that the administration is actually supporting the party’s base.
Pffft! That’ll be the day. Maybe when they consider transgendered Americans and our contributions to the LGBT cause worthwhile, I’ll consider it. That’s not going to happen while Joe Solmonese is around.
Solmonese is out since last summer. Chad Griffin is the new president, who I respect.
Really? I hope that’s good news. I’m not going to rush to renew my membership though, until I get something a little more concrete. Thanks for the update.
I’ll disagree, in that I don’t think HRC got off the dime on this at all; there was only a nascent campaign to get HRC to begin to do ANYTHING.
I think what happened, just conjecture, is that the early blogging on this showed that the PIC wasn’t vetting very well, and they needed rid of this issue pronto.
I would like to know some facts though, in that did the PIC even run Giglio by Gautam Raghavan, the Whitehouse LGBT liason?
Stop making sense, Kelly.
I don’t believe he’s able. ;)
It is good news. My husband and I were married in California in June 2008. Chad Griffin spearheaded the prop 8 litigation that is now before the Supreme Court. If you recall there was a great deal of hemming and hawing over the decision to take it through the courts as opposed to another voter referendum. Griffin led the charge and his leadership on this has been very effective, ergo, I presume, his appointment as president of HRC. Also, remember Shannon Minter was the lead attorney in the original trial, and Griffin would have been part of that decision.
I agree with you however, I’m not rushing to renew my membership just yet either.
The White House says they were unaware of Giglio’s past comments and if we accept that on it’s face, I would have to guess they did not. Surely Raghavan would have been aware of the history.
Yes, yes but what Griffin did or did not do about Prop H8 tells me doodly squat about where he is on transgender issues. He may despise us, while Solmonese’s attitude seemed ambiguous at best and exploitative at worst. Marriage Equality, like the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, has been absolutely no help to transgendered Americans. While I wholeheartedly endorse and support marriage equality, I still don’t have the “right” to work and support myself in my state, nor am I technically allowed to marry a member of either gender. Basic rights as a citizen seems a little more important to me than your right to wed, if you’ll forgive me being a bit selfish.
Hi ya, Peg.
Warren’s presence four years ago ruined it for me.
Let’s not talk about what the last four years did.
You may be right. I’ll select “all of the above”. I was just assuming since they inhabit the village, so chummy and all, that just maybe…..
It sure was pronto though, and no mealy-mouthed bs from the PIC.
@demi @peg :)
@Dennis Munro, yeah there’s a lot of that good ol’ chumminess. And like I said, conjecture on my part.
But really, not just in this instance, this whole vetting thing is crazy. When you go to pick “mouthpieces” you gotta vet them, and particularly picking evangelicals? HELLO?!?!? Odds are pretty good that there’s a little hate spittle flinging off that mouth somewhere vis-a-vis gay people.
Shannon Minter is transgendered.
I couldn’t agree more with you, and all of our rights are of equal importance. The way I view it, the struggle for us all moves forward, usually slowly, on some kind of continuum.
I remember a few years ago when the LGBT moniker took hold, I was with a group of my gay (white) friends and one of them whined, why do we have to include the transgendered? I screamed at him, “because the only difference between them and us is they’re more vulnerable than we are.”
Back in the 70′s when I came out, the invisibility of the closet was the enemy. We thought, maybe if people realize we are their sons and daughters and sisters and brothers they won’t hate us or be afraid of us so much.The culture didn’t know who we were. It’s taken a couple of generations for that to sink in, but since the last election, I believe we witnessed a tipping point, and a majority of the country gets it finally.
I think the transgendered are the future, so I am hopeful for you and your community. The youngsters are so encouraging, people like Kim Petras. Something about the last being the first, I don’t know.
Sounds like John Aravosis. I appreciate your standing up like you did though. To deny or marginalize the contribution of the transgendered to the Stonewall uprising would be the same as denying Newton’s contributions to physics.
I’m a glass half full kinda guy. My guess is somebody was asleep at the switch and stepped in it big time, given the speedy resolution.
And please don’t get me started on the evangenitals. I will say that given they’ve just about destroyed the republican party, they no longer appear to be in ascendance. They should keep up their “good” work, and eat a bag of salted dicks.
Thank you. And you hit the nail on the head, the guy is a republican, like Aravosis used to be. Aravosis can eat a bag of salted dicks too as far as I’m concerned.