Christian Rally to Replace Gay Pride Event in N.C.
The first-ever ''Not Ashamed Charlotte'' rally will unite Christians from different churches to proclaim their faith in the city’s public square, replacing an annual gay pride event usually scheduled for early May.
The first-ever ''Not Ashamed Charlotte'' rally will unite Christians from different churches to proclaim their faith in the city’s public square, replacing an annual gay pride event usually scheduled for early May.
For years, Christians have protested the Charlotte Gay Pride event, which usually takes place every May in Marshall Park, claiming that it incites public lewdness and obscenity.
"For the last four years, on the first Saturday of May, Marshall Park has been will filled with as many as 3,000 gays and lesbians celebrating Charlotte Pride," explains Dr. Michael L. Brown, Director of the Coalition of Conscience and organizer of Not Ashamed Charlotte.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"This year," Brown states, however, "the Charlotte Pride organizers had to delay their event, and we were able to get the park for our rally.”
“So, instead of transvestite dancers simulating sex in the presence of toddlers and little children, we will be proclaiming the goodness of God and the love of Jesus. And instead of vendors advertising hot nudist camps, we will be standing together with our families proclaiming that we are not ashamed of purity and morality and wholesome living."
According to Laura Witkowski, executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Center, last year’s protest – in which religious groups preached and sang over a sound system set up along the periphery of the park – is not what caused Pride's previous organizers to drop out this year. Still, she says Charlotte's acceptance of gays and lesbians isn't what it could be.
"You're dealing with folks who are basically telling you you're going to hell," she told Charlotte Creative Loafing, a nearly-20-year-old tabloid paper publication. Witkowski’s group has stepped in to help organize Charlotte Pride after previous years' organizers grew tired of putting the event on year after year.
"That's difficult for folks to take,” she added, “and I think it's unwarranted."
Brown, however, notes that his organization does not condone hatred or mistreatment of gays and lesbians.
"We are absolutely not intolerant bigots, and we believe that strong moral convictions must go hand in hand with respectful and gracious treatment of all people," he explained in a released statement. “So we reach out to homosexual men and women with compassion, but we resist with courage their agenda to reshape America."
According to organizers, the May 6 "Not Ashamed Charlotte" rally in Marshall Park will take place from 3-4 p.m. with participants from different churches in the greater Charlotte region.
For further information, go to: www.coalitionofconscience.org.
