Advocates and members of the LGBTQ community in Fort Lauderdale are pleading with the city’s first out mayor to not sign a proclamation being presented by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission that would honor an anti-LGBTQ church. A church and school created by Dr. D. James Kennedy, whose organization of ministries is designated as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) are set to receive a day of commemoration on March 21 if the proclamation stands. Kennedy became one of the most watch televangelists in the 1980s and 1990s, and also one of the most prominent marriage equality opponents in the 2000s. He penned the book What’s Wrong With Same-Sex Marriage? In 2004 in opposition to marriage equality, proclaiming to “use Scripture to show what God says about homosexuality and marriage” but also claiming he was “maintaining a loving attitude toward homosexuals as human beings.” He endorsed the comic book Homosexuality: Legitimate, Alternate Deathstyle that admonished the LGBTQ movement in the 1980s. One part of the book claims, “we’re all gonna DIE because of those homos,” in introducing the topic of AIDS. The SPLC also notes one instance where Dr. Kennedy published a newsletter with the headline, “Sex With Children? Homosexuals Say Yes!” next to photos of children. Kennedy resided in Fort Lauderdale at the time of his death in 2007. He created the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 1960, the schools Westminster Academy in 1971, and Knox Theological Seminary in 1989. Since his death, his ministries tried and failed to sue the SPLC for designating them as a hate group. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in 2019. Coral Ridge allegedly performed conversion therapy on gay people, including the late Justin Flippen, the former mayor of nearby Wilton Manors, Florida. A proclamation presented by Commissioner Heather Moraitis seeks to honor the 50th anniversary of the Academy and the 60th of the church, making March 21 “Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Day and Westminster Academy Day” across Fort Lauderdale. Moraitis is the Director of Development at Westminster Academy. Mayor Trantilis said “I have reached out to many segments of my community, including those that are faith-based. Times have changed, and so have their leaders, and every one of them has been eager to bring our communities together. it’s time to build our future based on love and not hate, and it’s time for those who still harbor resentment to let go of it. I know I have.” Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen said “Praising Coral Ridge with a proclamation, is the equivalent of honoring the Proud Boys or the KKK. It shocks the mind and offends the senses.” Hes suggested Offering to make a deal before requesting an apology from the church before the proclamation is signed would be wrong saying “to celebrate Coral Ridge prior to a heartfelt apology is to participate in gross historical revisionism. It is to erect a façade to whitewash their record.” The proclamation was signed by Ft Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis last night. March 21 the gayest place on planet earth will celebrate Coral Ridge. At Queer News Tonight we will watch the next steps in this long and terrible history in South Florida. Perhaps everyone can finally find a way to heal.
Ft. Lauderdale’s out mayor will honor an anti-LGBTQ hate group because it’s time to “let go”
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