THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502120070
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Gay-rights activist Mel White will renew overtures to Pat Robertson - this time in the form of a hand-delivered love letter, flowers and candy at noon Tuesday - Valentine's Day - at the front gate of Robertson's CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach.
White, 54, who leads a Dallas-based Christian denomination for gays and lesbians, announced Saturday during opening ceremonies of the fifth annual Gay Pride Festival at Old Dominion University that he and other ecumenical and spiritual leaders plan to try to meet with CBN founder Robertson.
If Robertson declines, White said, he and his supporters would stage a sit-in and invite arrest, if necessary, to promote their cause.
The former Robertson aide, who revealed in 1991 that he is gay, has tried unsuccessfully for three years to meet with Robertson to discuss the televangelist's anti-gay stance.
Robertson and gays alike are ``victims of `misinformation,' '' White said. ``We're not fighting Pat Robertson, we're fighting misinformation.''
Robertson's remarks ``create a climate of misunderstanding that leads to suffering and death,'' he said. ``. . . The only way we can win this battle is to outlove those who oppose us.''
On Monday, White faxed Robertson a letter requesting a private meeting. Robertson faxed back, refusing the invitation.
Homosexuality, Robertson wrote, ``is the last stage in the decline of a population. In the Old Testament the statement is clear: `It is an abomination for a man to lie with a man as with a woman.' ''
But in a four-page ``love letter'' White and more than a dozen other supporters hope to deliver, he addressed each of the arguments Robertson offered in his earlier correspondence published in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star on Friday.
The letter reads, in part:
``. . . Homosexuality is not a sin to be cured. Like heterosexuality, it is one of God's great and mysterious gifts. It is as sinful to reject that gift as it is to condemn, misuse or abuse it. Like you, we gay and lesbian Christians need forgiveness for our sins. But neither our sexual orientation nor its loving fulfillment are sinful.''
If the letter, candy and flowers are unsuccessful, White said, he and his supporters will peacefully resist attempts to silence their voices.
``If Pat meets us, fine - if he doesn't meet us, we're going to advocate arrest,'' he said. ``Pat Robertson's place is an incredible source of oppression for us. All we're asking is for him to meet with us, talk with us .
``I believe Pat Robertson can become a friend of gay and lesbian people,'' White said. ``I believe Pat can change if he only sits down with gays and lesbians in his own community.''
``I believe that one day, Pat Robertson will reach out his arms and say . .
More than 600 gays, lesbians and their supporters gathered throughout the day to hear White's remarks. Festival-goers wandered from table to table gathering literature and networking while music blared from loudspeakers. They browsed through tables stacked with pro-gay buttons and T-shirts and participated in events ranging from educational workshops to a morning prayer breakfast.
``The community itself is starting to come together,'' said Kim Burns, president of the Hampton Roads Lesbian & Gay Pride Coalition that sponsored the festival. ``I think that there's a lot less intolerance pertaining to gay and lesbians than there used to be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff
Rev. Mel White delivers keynote address at Gay Pride Festival.
Photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff
From left, Brendon Foley, Temm Wilson, Jim Searle, Amy Pallett and
Shannon Marrion are involved in the gay youth support group ``Youth
Out United,'' and handed out pamphlets at the festival. Their
literature cites suicide as the leading cause of death among gay
youth.
by CNB