Before I begin I would like to note that this will be the last of the Evangelical Series. I know, sad. However, I would like to announce that you will not go long without knowing another group’s failings. I am turning my attention to Republicans that have been or are currently in office or held in high regard. Next Wednesday I will have a post explaining why I decided to write the Evangelical series to begin with and I hope my findings for the Republican side of this will interest you to come back and hear what is going on and I hope you will be educated on some of the stories that have not been reported or followed up on.
Now back to what is affectionately being coined #NTEH. (I’m just surprised and honored to have my own Hashtag.)
The Facts:
- Born January 7 1946
- Served as Senior Pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2002-2006
- Served on the executive committee for the Southern Baptist Convention
- Wanted the Baptist Church to befriended gays and lesbians to help them “reject their sinful, destructive lifestyle.”
The Culprit:
The Story:
Let me make clear, first and foremost, that Lonnie Latham was found not guilty of the act of lewdness. The argument that he and his lawyer made, was because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that it was not illegal for men to have sex if it was consensual.
Tulsa World reports that Mack Martin, Lonnie Latham’s lawyer, said:
“If it’s not illegal to engage in that conduct, then it shouldn’t be illegal to talk about it.”
As you can now see, Lonnie Latham was charged, Tuesday January 3rd 2006, for Offering to Engage in An Act of Lewdness. It is said that he propositioned an undercover police officer for oral sex.
Interestingly enough, Lonnie Latham was in an area of town that was under investigation for complaints of male prostitution. Did he know this? I think so. His excuse was that he was involved in a prayer ministry in the area. Why was he doing such mission work alone? He then went on to blame the police officer, saying that he was in dialogue with the police and the officer “made many suggestions.”
The Baptist Press reported:
Television cameras captured him leaving the jail the next day when he stated he “was set up†and was in the area “pastoring to police.â€
According to the police officer, Latham made no mention of prayer and he said his name was Luke.
This visit was not Latham’s first to the area. There are records that show that on December 2, 1998 Latham received a traffic ticket only blocks from where he was arrested on this charge.
Don Satterthwaite, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Freedom & Equality Coalition, said:
“I imagine there are a lot of people [like Latham] in the closet in his church and unfortunately his church is so anti-gay, his life is essentially destroyed. He has to be so closeted. A lot of people are in similar situations and I worry that’s why so many young people commit suicide.”
There is no real new information or news dealing with Latham. It seems that he stayed away from the news since his incident in 2006.