Soulforce march for gays stays calm at Focus

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Soulforce march for gays stays calm at Focus

By Ed Sealover, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado), July 23, 2006

Tents sheltering leaders of Soulforce and Focus on the Family sat just 100 yards apart Saturday night, but they may as well have been on different ends of Colorado Springs.

Inside the tents, leaders of the respective organizations spoke about why their message on homosexuality is right. They spoke about why the other group is wrong. But they never spoke to each other.

Instead, several hundred supporters of gays and lesbians, many wearing orange Soulforce shirts, listened to music and formed a human chain in front of the Focus campus.

Focus officials advocated compassion for the marchers but defended their belief that families must be headed by men and women.

They said Soulforce did not ask for a dialogue and, in turn, Focus did not attempt to interject itself into the festivities.

And so, the two sides stood.

"It's less about . . . trying to change their minds and more to show them the families they impact," said Ryan Acker, advocacy director for the Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Center.

The gathering was the completion of a five-day march by Soulforce members from Denver to Focus to demonstrate outrage at Focus' policies against gays and lesbians. Much of the crowd flew in from places as far-flung as Tulsa, Okla., and Fresno, Calif.

The mood was mellow. A half-dozen Colorado Springs police officers stood idly by.

Speeches by gay actor Chad Allen and by Judy Shepard - mother of murder victim Matthew Shepard - as well as talk among participants called Focus' views hateful.

"It's easy to say the things that they say when we're a concept rather than real people," said Don Glass of Tulsa.

For its part, Focus brought out people who said they have abandoned homosexuality with help of Christian influences. Melissa Fryrear, a gender-issues analyst, cited Focus studies that children are best raised by a mother and a father.

Tom Minnery, Focus' vice president of public policy, noted 20 states have outlawed same-sex marriage, with average voter support of 70 percent.

"If our message is hateful, then 70 percent of the country is hateful," Minnery said. "We think we represent the broad mainstream of Americans on marriage."

On this night, at least, no minds seemed to change.

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