FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Michael Diviesti, GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer, (512) 694-3394, michael@getequaltx.org
PROTESTERS TRAVEL FROM ACROSS TEXAS TO PICKET HATE-BASED EVENT
HOUSTON, TX — On August 6th, Governor Perry spoke at an event inside Reliant Stadium in Houston that he organized with the American Family Association, an organization recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Outside, GetEQUAL protesters from across the Lone Star State joined together and raised their voices against the hatred and bigotry being voiced inside the stadium.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community has recently seen a rise in hate crimes against them, both in Texas and across the country. This event is one more example of religion-based bigotry that helps spur such hate crimes and helps send the message that discriminating against one particular group is okay.
“Our Governor invited, and therefore endorsed, groups to preach hate in our state,” said GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer Michael Diviesti. “The American Family Association and the Family Research Council empower the bullies that are driving our youth to suicide and the murderers who kill out of hatred and ignorance.”
For the LGBT community, this was a day to stand up and fight back — not against prayer, but against those using their religion as a justification for the harm they cause to others.
“Governor Perry called for prayer to confront the crisis faced by our nation. Sadly, those sponsoring the event are the cause of the crisis that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans and their families are facing”, said Jay Morris, GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer. “Religion and prayer should not be used as tools for bigotry and inequality.”
“I’m not surprised that he spoke at this event,” said Julie Pousson, GetEQUAL member and supporter. “He has chosen to align himself with these groups and has made it clear that he only represents the radically intolerant.”
“Growing up in a loving Christian family, I was always taught that prayer means asking for protection, healing, and love,” said John Dean Domingue, GetEQUAL Texas South Plains Coordinator. “This event supports the use of prayer as a tool for violence — something every human being is morally obligated to refute and reject.”
GetEQUAL Texas will continue to call out religion-based bigotry when and where it arises, especially when it is embraced and encouraged by politicians elected to represent an entire group of people, rather than a select group.
Founded in 2010, GetEQUAL is a national grassroots organization whose mission is to empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community and our allies to take bold action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information, go to www.getequal.org, www.facebook.com/getequal, or www.twitter.com/getequal.
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