Sid9 wrote:
> September 5, 2008
>
> Palin church promotes converting gays
>
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
> Filed at 8:41 p.m. ET
>
> ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a
> conference that promises to convert gays into hetero***uals through
> the power of prayer.
>
> ''You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to
> transform the lives of those impacted by homo***uality,'' according
> to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where
> Palin has prayed for about six years.
>
> Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the
> GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before
> he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly
> anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and *****, and opposes
> gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.
>
> Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist
> organization, is conducting the ''Love Won Out'' Conference in
> Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.
>
> Palin, campaigning with McCain in the Midwest on Friday, has not
> publicly expressed a view on the so-called ''pray away the gay''
> movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin's church, was not
> available to discuss the matter Friday, said a church worker who
> declined to give her name.
> Gay activists in Alaska said Palin has not worked actively against
> their interests, but early in her administration she sup****ted a bill
> to overrule a court decision to block state benefits for gay partners
> of public employees. At the time, less than one-half of 1 percent of
> state employees had applied for the benefits, which were ordered by a
> 2005 ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.
>
> Palin reversed her position and vetoed the bill after the state
> attorney general said it was unconstitutional. But her reluctant
> sup****t didn't win fans among Alaska's gay population, said Scott
> Turner, a gay activist in Anchorage.
>
> ''Less than 1 percent of state employees would even apply for
> benefits, so why make a big deal out of such a small number?'' he
> said.
> ''I think gay Republicans are going to run away'' if Palin sup****ts
> efforts like the prayers to convert gays, said Wayne Besen, founder
> of the New York-based Truth Wins Out, a gay rights advocacy group.
> Besen called on Palin to publicly express her views now that she's a
> vice presidential nominee.
>
> ''People are looking at Sarah Palin as someone who might feasibly be
> in the White House,'' he said.
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