Bigot Eruption in Albany Over "I am Gay" Billboards

In the Hampton Roads area one of the biggest problems with HIV/AIDS is within the African-American community with infection rates rising among both males and females - young males in particular are at risk. The problem, however, is not unique to Tidewater Virginia. Yet despite the problem within their community, one of the largest obstacles to proper education and frank communication are the leaders of black churches who parrot the anti-gay propaganda disseminated by the white "family values" organizations who are in many cases the descendants of the very individuals who wanted to blacks first enslaved and then segregated under the Jim Crow laws. The segregationist loving Tony Perkins at the hate group Family Research Council is a perfect example. To try to deal with this huge problem, the New York State Department of Health has launched a billboard campaign called "In Our Own Voices" that features images of African-American men proudly saying “I am Gay and this is where I stay” or “I am Gay and this is where I play” or “I am Gay and this is where I pray.” Needless to say the black pastors and politicians willing to prostitute themselves to such forces are hyperventilating and the spittle is flying fast and furiously. Libby Post has an excellent piece in the Albany Times Union that looks at the batshitery of opponents of the campaign. Here are some highlights:
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The billboards in question? There are 18 of them throughout Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Montgomery counties. It seems Schenectady City Councilman Joe Allen and a few of the African-American clergy in the Electric City are quite upset about the gay-positive messages popping up there.
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The billboard campaign is sponsored by In Our Own Voices and the New York State Department of Health, and features images of African-American men proudly saying “I am Gay and this is where I stay” or “I am Gay and this is where I play” or “I am Gay and this is where I pray.”
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African-American men are the focus of the billboards because of the alarming rate of HIV and AIDS among black gay males–some of whom, because of the homophobia they encounter in their daily lives live on “the down low,” also known as in the Closet. These are simple billboards with a simple message–it’s OK to be gay. It’s that simple message that seems to be upsetting folks.
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Joe pSchenectady City Councilman Joe Allen] is quoted as saying “This kind of billboard is putting the stamp of approval on a gay lifestyle.” The article goes on to say that Joe insists he’s not homophobic.
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Excuse me? First of all, being gay is not a lifestyle. It’s not like having an expensive car or living in a big house or spending all your time listening to music and reading–that’s a lifestyle. What we have, Joe, are simply called lives. This is who we are. This is not a choice. This is how God created me–just as God created you as an African-American male. This is my life not my lifestyle. And, don’t for a minute think not approving of my life is not homophobia. It is plain and simple.
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And shame on Pastor Richard Parsons of Schenectady’s Consecration Temple Church of God Christ who uses the Bible as the reason for his homophobia. Homosexuality, he says is ”directly against God’s word and what God hates, I hate.” With his vitriol, Pastor Parsons has closed the door on his parishioners–those who are gay and on the down low, who are questioning their sexuality, whose children have come out and their parents need spiritual guidance. Hate is not God’s way–at least not the God most of us believe in.