Soulforce Protests Focus on the Family

The 1000 Watt March, Vigil, and Concert: Shedding the Powerful Light of Truth on the Anti-Gay Dishonesty of Focus on the Family

In July 2006 Soulforce, a non-profit civil rights organization campaigning for "freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance," marched from Denver to Colorado Springs to confront Focus on the Family, a homophobic powerhouse of the religious right.

We have collected some photos and links to reports so you can experience a little bit of the successful event. The gorgeous photos are "borrowed" from Soulforce's website, where there are many more: please take a moment to look (here) and to support this wonderful organization.

Families From All Over the Nation Enjoy Musical Conclusion to 1000 Watt March, Vigil and Concert

Concert concludes justice march from Denver to Colorado Springs to peacefully confront the anti-gay bigotry of Focus on the Family

SOULFORCE PRESS RELEASE: July 23, 2006

(Colorado Springs, CO) -- The 1000 Watt March, Vigil and Concert ended last night with a celebration of family in song. Billy Porter wowed the audience gathered in front of Focus on the Family headquarters with a mix of gospel, soul and Broadway. Between songs, Porter told the audience how much the work of Soulforce had meant to him in his personal spiritual journey and his family's acceptance of his sexual orientation...

Prior to the concert, several hundred people joined in a two-mile justice march from Rampart Park to the Focus on the Family headquarters, led by Judy Shepard and actor Chad Allen. Members of the crowd, which came from all over Colorado -- and all over the nation -- carried rainbow flags and American flags, and signs with slogans like: "Separate church and hate." The marchers split into two lines and wound around both sides of the Focus on the Family campus, eventually meeting up on the other side. They joined hands forming a line across the entire front of the massive complex of buildings and stood in silent protest of Focus on the Family teachings that denigrate and demean LGBT people. Continue

Gay Group Takes Protest To Home Of Focus On The Family

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff, July 23, 2006

(Colorado Springs, Colorado) Hundreds of gays, lesbians and their supporters ringed the headquarters Saturday evening of the conservative Focus on the Family.

Most of the gays came with their partners, many with their children. They held hands as they walked around the perimeter of the complex.

The protest, organized by the nondenominational group Soulforce, began last week in front of the state Capitol in Denver. Over the five days groups of same-sex couples and their kids marched in relay-style to Colorado Springs, picking up more and more people along the way. Continue

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. Continue

Bully pulpit

By Billy Porter, Advocate.com, July 21, 2006

"On Saturday, July 22, at 8:30 p.m., Broadway star Billy Porter will protest in song outside Focus on the Family as Soulforce completes its 1,000-watt March, Vigil, and Concert, confronting the antigay bigotry of James Dobson. As Porter prepares for the demonstration, he looks back at how Christianity affected his younger self."

Porter tells about how, in his youth, after singing at a revival, preacher Joyce Meyer called him from the audience, told him to come forward, and, according to Porter, said: "The Lord spoke to me, and I have a word from Him. He told me to tell you that every time you come into the house of the Lord, you need to sit in the front pew. Because if you sit in the front pew every time you come into the house of the Lord, it'll keep you straight." Continue

Soulforce marches on Focus

By Perry Swanson, The Colorado Springs Gazette, July 20, 2006

About 20 gay-rights activists marched for miles under a hot sun Wednesday, bound for a Saturday rally at the Colorado Springs headquarters of the Christian ministry Focus on the Family.

The marchers, part of the gay-rights group Soulforce, criticized Focus as a leading voice in opposition to gay marriage and rights for gay parents. Focus founder James Dobson was a particular target - he has called gay marriage and parents a threat to traditional families. Continue

Ministry counters: We won't let mooing dogs lie

By Perry Swanson, The Colorado Springs Gazette, July 18, 2006

Focus on the Family today will unveil a media campaign aimed at countering advertisements that feature a puppy named Norman who says "moo."

Norman is part of the Born Different ad campaign, which has appeared in Colorado Springs since early June. The ads say Norman can't help but "moo" because he was born different. Organizers say the story line is a metaphor for gay people, who they argue were born with their sexual orientation. Continue

To see TV spots by Norman (pictured above) and his associates, click here.

Homosexual Activists Plan March On Focus on the Family Headquarters

By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker, AgapePress, July 21, 2006

The homosexual activist group Soulforce plans to march on the headquarters of a prominent Colorado-based pro-family ministry this weekend. Organizers, who have dubbed the July 22 event "The 1000-Watt March," expect at least a thousand homosexuals and lesbians to converge on the Focus on the Family campus and pray for its founder, Dr. James Dobson.

Soulforce members claim Focus on the Family, along with other Christian groups, engage in so-called "spiritual violence" against homosexuals and deny them justice. The homosexual group accuses Focus of being "one of the world’s primary sources of defamation against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and same-gender families" and of disseminating misinformation that encourages bias, discrimination, and violence against homosexuals. Continue

A False Focus on My Family

Why every person of faith should be deeply troubled by Dr. James Dobson's dangerous and misleading words about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community

Jeff Lutes, Soulforce

In this 32-page booklet, Jeff Lutes begins by revealing Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family's harsh and misleading anti-gay rhetoric. He then constructs a response to shed the light of truth using the latest in scientific, psychological, psychiatric, and medical research.Continue

Dr. Judith Stacey of NYU, Third Social Scientist in One Month to Call for an End to James Dobson’s Purposeful Misuse of Scientific Research

Rinchard Lindsay, Soulforce, July 12, 2006

This Monday, Dr. Judith Stacey, professor of sociology at New York University and a prominent researcher on children raised by same-sex couples, will join the growing chorus of psychologists and social scientists denouncing Focus on the Family's twisting of their research to prop up unscientific claims about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Stacey will speak out at the kick-off to the Soulforce 1000 Watt March, Vigil and Concert on the steps of the State Capitol building in Denver, CO. Continue