How is it possible that so-called “Christian” and “Family” organizations are planning to protest an event that was created to celebrate and affirm the right of all couples to share simple acts of affection – like a kiss?
That’s right. The Religious Right is “warning” people about The Great Nationwide Kiss-In, and telling families to avoid accidentally bumping into Kiss-Ins! God forbid children see same-sex couples actually kiss! Worse, a group called “God Has a Better Way,” sent an email to its followers inviting them to protest, stating, in part,
“We have decided to drop in on this “kiss-in†and declare the good
news, preach repentance and faith, minister to those in need, reach
out to everyone who will hear, shine the light in the midst of
darkness, and worship the Lord together. Can you join us?”
And then there’s The Illinois Family Institute, a “Christian” organization that “is an independent 501c(3) non-profit ministry dedicated to upholding and re-affirming marriage, family, life and liberty in Illinois.” This week they wrote, in “Radical Gay Activists Plan ‘Great Nationwide Kiss-In Events,’”
“What we hope is that the public would recover both a proper understanding of the immorality of homosexual acts and the courage to voice that belief, so that public disapproval will be strong enough to persuade homosexuals to voluntarily restrict their kissing to private venues. Many adults do not care to witness obscene and inappropriate kissing, and their children shouldn’t have to.”
Not only that, but in that same piece, The Illinois Family Institute compared same-sex kissing – kissing! – first to NAMBLA, then to incest, then to an orgy.
Here’s what they said,
“An adult kissing a pre-pubescent child or a high school-age adolescent in a sexual or romantic manner is both obscene and inappropriate despite the protestations of the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) to the contrary.
Romantic or sexual kissing between two consenting adults who are in love and who are closely related by blood is both obscene and inappropriate despite the protestations of defenders of incest to the contrary.
Romantic or sexual kissing among “multi-partner” unions, like those profiled in a recent Newsweek article, are both obscene and inappropriate despite the protests of polyamorists to the contrary.
Romantic or sexual kissing between two people of the same biological sex is both obscene and inappropriate despite the voluble, vigorous, and often vitriolic protests of homosexuals to the contrary.”
The Great Nationwide Kiss-In has been an incredible success. On Saturday, at exactly 2:00 PM EDT, The Great Nationwide Kiss-In will take place in 50 cities, across 31 states and territories, plus Canada. Thousands of people – gay, straight, bisexual, and transgender – will show up at parks, city halls, and other public spaces, and kiss the one they love.
When we started The Great Nationwide Kiss-In, just four weeks ago, it was just an idea to have couples – gay and straight – gather in public and share a kiss with their loved one, to demonstrate that ALL people have the right to kiss the one they love, without fear of intimidation or incarceration. Because, as you know by now, same-sex couples have been harassed, detained, and even arrested, after kissing in public. And that is unacceptable.
Together with my friends Wilow Witte, the co-founder of Join The Impact, and fellow writer David Mailloux, of DYM-SUM.com, we crafted an event that specifically was designed to be a celebration, not a protest. And we made the conscious decision to NOT hold any of these Kiss-Ins near any house of worship, and especially to avoid Christian churches and Mormon temples, despite the fact that one recent event – in which all charges were dropped -Â involved the Mormon church pressing charges against a same-sex couple who was arrested after kissing on their property.
I have asked the more than four thousand people who signed up to participate in The Great Nationwide Kiss-In to turn the other cheek. I have asked everyone to ignore anyone who feels it is their religious obligation to protest an event that was created to help remind people that everyone has the right to demonstrate simple affection for their loved one.
There are people of faith and religious groups who support the rights of gay men and lesbians to form honest, legal, and loving families. I hope that these other so-called “Christian” groups, those that are so mired in hate and fear, those who choose to waste their time protesting simple acts of love, rather than ministering to those truly in need, I ask them to look inward, and upward, and ask, “What would Jesus do?”