The "Love Won Out" Vigil

I spent a few hours out in the sun this morning with about eighty other people, standing in front of a church where Focus on the Family's "Love Won Out" conference was being held. We held signs and watched the people drive into the church parking lot -- it didn't seem like there were really that many of them attending the conference. Lots of people driving past on New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring honked and waved, truck drivers and moms taxiing kids to Saturday-morning soccer, students.

Inside Immanuel's Church, people were being told some fake-psychology theories about why some people are attracted to members of their own sex and they were being told that there are methods for changing that. In fact, these are theories with no research supporting them, and psychotherapeutic techniques with no history of success. The whole thing is pure Wishful Thinking, a cruel hoax.

The guys inside that church take a situation that requires no judgment of another human being, any more than eye-color or handedness, and redefine it as a moral issue. Since you're not like everybody else, you are depraved and despicable. Inside that church, people were learning how to overcome the depravity of homosexuality. I doubt that they spent much time dwelling on the question of why you'd want to overcome it, the answer is obvious to them.

But that seems like the real question -- why would you want to change?

Well, the people out on the street were cheerful, friendly, high-functioning people who know what the game is, and know that you have to fight back against ignorance if you're going to claim your rights. Some were gay, some not, whatever, those people speaking in there needed to be opposed, the people going to the conference needed to know that not everybody agrees with the concept.

I think we got a positive reaction from people driving by, commonsense ordinary people. The poor cops stuck in the middle of this were cool, they helped us get back and forth across the street and stopped traffic so we could come back across from the press conference to the demonstration. I don't why there so many cops there, if they were protecting us or protecting the churchgoers from us. Whichever, they directed traffic a little bit, and otherwise there wasn't much to do.

All in all, the mood was positive. Dan Furmansky gave a rousing talk, and Dr. Lise Van Susteren, Delegate Gareth Murray, PFLAG dad Stephen Eckstrand, and "ex-ex-gay" veteran of years of conversion therapy Robert Rigby, Junior, gave excellent talks to the assembled group.

Hey, I took some pictures, and a few look OK. I had my camera in my pocket and kept forgetting to get it out and take pictures. Here are some links:

• Love Wins Out (Two guys with sign)
  
• The sunny side of the street
  
• Lise Van Susteren speaking at press conference (Del. Gareth Murray on far left in suit, Dan Furmansky far right in khakis)
  
• Another picture of Lise Van Susteren speaking
  
• Dan Furmansky's impassioned speech
  
• People listening to Dan at press conference
  
• Crowd with signs

PS If you see yourself here and didn't want to have your picture on the Internet or something, please let me know and I'll take it down.