Falwell's Liberty University Hosting Anti-Gay Conference

Living in Virginia it is difficult not to be amazed by the brilliance and enlightenment of the Founding Fathers from Virginia. Knowledge, education and religious freedom were highly valued ideals. Sadly, since the Founding Fathers - other than some of the Civil War generals such as Robert E. Lee who were outstanding even if the cause of slavery was wrong - Virginia has in general been a force for backwardness and bigotry. Virginia led the way in formulating Jim Crow laws to circumvent Reconstruction laws and, of course engaged in massive resistance - i.e., closing the public schools in some locales rather than allow blacks and whites to intermix in the same schools as ordered by the federal courts. More recently, Now, the loons over at Liberty University (founded by the late Jerry Falwell) is hosting a conference that follows the tradition of the worse parts of Virginia's history rather than the brilliance and enlightenment of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, James Madison, George Washington, George Mason and others. Rather than embrace knowledge and enlightenment, Liberty University's law school is hosting an anti-gay conference that will resemble a coven of homophobes. Here are details from Liberty Counsel's website (a conference agenda can be found here):
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Lynchburg, VA – Liberty University School of Law will host a one-day conference followed by a one-day symposium addressing homosexuality and its consequences. The Friday, February 12, conference is entitled “Understanding Same-sex Attractions and Their Consequences.” On Saturday, February 13, the Liberty University Law Review will host a legal symposium entitled “Homosexual Rights and First Amendment Freedoms: Can They Truly Coexist?”
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This two-day long symposium begins at 10:00 a.m., Friday, February 12, in the Vines Center of Liberty University at Liberty’s convocation service during which Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, will speak. The afternoon event, titled “Understanding Same-Sex Attractions and Their Consequences,” begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Supreme Courtroom of Liberty University School of Law. Speakers include Alan Chambers; Julie Harren-Hamilton, President of NARTH; Tim Clinton, President of the American Association of Christian Counselors; Rena Lindevaldsen, Associate Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law, and Mathew Staver, Dean of Liberty University School of Law.

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Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “The clash between free speech, religious and homosexual rights is a like the grinding of two tectonic plates. It is imperative to understand the implications of same-sex attractions and the broader homosexual agenda. . . . The politicized radicalism of the homosexual agenda on the other hand is aggressive and intent on trampling upon the fundamental freedoms of anyone who may disapprove. That is why this conference at Liberty University is vitally important.”
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The contrast between Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia In Charlottesville (consistently ranked among the top universities in the USA) and Liberty University - which are a mere 70 miles apart - could not be more striking. UVA offers knowledge, academic freedom and enlightenment while Lynchburg's Liberty University offers theocracy, religious bigotry, intolerance and, at essence, a contempt for religious freedom for all guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It's not surprising that Lynchburg is a veritable backwater compared to Charlottesville.