A great day for my hometown, as Ethan Berkowitz wins big against Amy Demboski.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

Ethan Berkowitz surged to a decisive win over opponent Amy Demboski in the Anchorage mayoral runoff election Tuesday night. 

With 98 percent of the vote counted, Berkowitz had more than 59 percent of the vote to Demboski’s 41 percent, a margin that was insurmountable. 

Berkowitz had held a commanding lead over Demboski throughout the evening. As of 11 p.m., 122 of the municipality’s 124 precincts had reported. Berkowitz will take over the mayor's office from Dan Sullivan on July 1. 

As his lead over Demboski held strong, Berkowitz stood on a chair at his campaign party in a downtown restaurant to wild applause and waving signs. He asked his supporters to continue to help when the night’s celebration was over, asking them to work on unifying Anchorage and heal the divisions that marked the final days of the campaign. 

“There is a better way,” Berkowitz said. “It doesn’t matter if you're a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian, an independent or you don’t even vote. This is our Anchorage!” 

As the applause and screams almost drowned him out, he continued, “It doesn't matter if you’re a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, a Buddhist or something else. This is our Anchorage! It doesn’t matter if you’re straight or gay or lesbian or transgender.”

Yes this is our Anchorage, and fortunately the combined efforts of the Koch brothers and Jerry Prevo were not able to change that.

I want to thank every Anchorage visitor to IM who voted for Ethan in this election. As I am sure you know this city desperately needs somebody like him to help us repair the damage done during the Sullivan administration.

Ethan Berkowitz is a hard worker, and a man who really cares about the people of this city.

I could not have asked for a better start to my day today.

Andrew Halcro decides he cannot keep quiet any longer, endorses Ethan Berkowitz for Mayor of Anchorage.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

Former Anchorage mayoral candidate Andrew Halcro has offered a last-second endorsement of Ethan Berkowitz, one of the two candidates in Tuesday’s runoff election. 

Halcro, a centrist Republican who used to lead the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, placed third in the initial round of balloting last month, behind Berkowitz, a Democrat, and Republican Amy Demboski, the other candidate in Tuesday’s runoff. 

The top two finishers stand in the runoff if neither reached 45 percent of the vote in the first round. The election is officially non-partisan, but both Demboski and Berkowitz have received partisan backing. 

Halcro, who got 21.5 percent of the vote last month, initially said he would not endorse either Berkowitz or Demboski. But in a Facebook post late Sunday, Halcro encouraged his supporters to vote for Berkowitz, saying he was worried about Demboski’s honesty, integrity, and maturity, “and her decision to allow the most extreme elements of the Republican Party to lead her campaign.”

Halcro said that the catalyst for him was Demboski's ugly attacks against Berkowitz: 

“After the last week, it was like, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t bite my tongue any more,’” Halcro said. “To watch this campaign degrade over the last two weeks into this personal attack at Ethan was just way too much.” 

"At any point in time, Amy could have stopped this," Halcro added.

There are a lot of reasons to disagree with Halcro politically, but he is clearly a man of integrity.

Remember if you are a resident of Anchorage, it is imperative that you get out and vote tomorrow. 

Because trust me, Jerry Prevo is going to have his followers bussed to the polls in support of Demboski if need be.

The secret marriage, and ugly dissolution of that marriage, that Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski really does not want you to know about.

So Amy Demboski is in a runoff election with Ethan Berkowitz to decide who will be the mayor of our fair city.

Demboski is a completely unqualified candidate who nonetheless has attracted the backing of the Koch brothers and of course our Baptist minister king maker Jerry Prevo.

Essentially Prevo is drawn to Demboski because she is a family values embracing homophobe who is pushing a conservative agenda.  You could say that hate and ideology binds them.

But what if there were something about Amy Demboski that was not quite so pro-family values? You know perhaps something like a brief marriage and an attempt to force your former husband into paying child support for a child that was not his.

Because you know what? That is something that really happened.

Good news for secularists in Anchorage, Jerry Prevo's church will no longer host high school wrestling event due to public prayer.

Prevo on the left.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

The Anchorage Baptist Temple’s school will not host this year's state wrestling tournament for small high schools, as it has in the past, after the Alaska School Activities Association asked it to stop its practice of including a public prayer in the event. 

An attendee of the 2013 event had complained to a national church-state separation watchdog group, which told the ASAA that as a public entity it couldn't sanction prayer at a school extracurricular event. 

Removing the prayer "was a show stopper for us,” said Tom Cobaugh, the administrator of the private Anchorage Christian Schools, the Anchorage Baptist Temple's education ministry. “That’s who we are.” 

The prayer issue made its way to the pulpit of the Anchorage Baptist Temple Sunday morning, when pastor Jerry Prevo used it in his sermon as an example of what he described as a “battle against prayer” in public schools. 

For seven years, Anchorage Christian Schools hosted the wrestling championship for small schools in its gymnasiums, Cobaugh said. The school, which shares an East Anchorage campus with the Baptist temple, serves about 650 students from preschool to high school.

This is yet another victory for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They have been advocating on the side of secularists and Atheists for a number of years now and have managed to achieve some rather impressive wins.

I particularly like this one as Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Temple is an especially disruptive and dangerous member of our community. He has almost single-handedly manged to oppress our LGBT community, and has had very unfortunate and pernicious influence on our politics.

Seeing him lose in this way does nothing but fill my heart with joy. And I hope it is only the first of many defeats that are coming his way.

First male couple marries in Alaska. Somewhere Jerry Prevo is beating his head against a wall.

Courtesy of KTUU: 

Alaska history was made Saturday night as the first male couple exchanged “I do’s” in Anchorage. 

Big Lake residents Gene Zola, 62, and Bob Deloach, 75, legally married at Raven in Downtown Anchorage. 

The two men have been together for more than 40 years.

I think that if a couple remains together for 40 years it does not matter WHAT gender they are, they should be allowed to get married anywhere in the world.

By the way first female Alaskan couple married last week in Barrow of all places.

For those trivia buffs you might like to know that Big Lake is just a hop skip and a jump away from Wasilla, and that Sarah Palin also won the title of Miss Big Lake the year after she won the Miss Wasilla title so that she could have a second shot at the Miss Alaska title, which she failed to win for the second time in a row.

A possible step forward in the battle for same sex marriage in Alaska.

Courtesy of the ACLU:  

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled today that the state unconstitutionally discriminates against same-sex couples by denying them equal access to a property tax exemption for senior citizens and disabled veterans. 

The rules were challenged by the ACLU of Alaska, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on behalf of three couples who were denied full access to a $150,000 property tax exemption that Alaska makes available to opposite-sex married couples. Because same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Alaska, the state treated them as roommates rather than as families and let them get the exemption for only half of the value of their homes. Roger Leishman, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, successfully argued the case at trial and on appeal before the Alaska Supreme Court. 

"Families in Alaska deserve better than a second-class system of laws for same-sex couples who are just as committed to each other as heterosexual couples," said Joshua Decker, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. "Our senior citizens and veterans should not have to pay more taxes just because they happen to be gay or lesbian."

I think that Alaska is primed and ready to move forward with marriage equality up here.

Hell we are already getting ready to vote on legalizing marijuana, so we might as well move the state forward in this regard as well.

Besides I want this to happen before that pernicious prick Jerry Prevo dies.

Using his sermons to vilify the LGBT community, and his political influence to help shape policies which oppress them, this man has been the driving force behind homophobia in this state for decades.

I just want the opportunity to see his face when the people of Alaska reject his hate mongering and openly embrace their gay brothers and sisters.

In response to the Boy Scouts new accepting attitude toward gay scouts the Anchorage Baptist Temple kicks them to the curb.

(Source)

Courtesy of KTUU:

 A group of local Boy Scouts learned Tuesday they will no longer be allowed to use facilities at the Anchorage Baptist Temple. A school on the church's campus is currently home base for Troop 1316, but their last meeting will be Thursday. 

The church informed scout leaders their relationship will end September 1, and the last meeting of the troop will be Thursday. 

What prompted the move is a decision earlier this year by Boy Scouts of America to allow openly gay members. 

Pastor Jerry Prevo said in an email to Mark Schneider, whose 12-year-old son is a longtime member of the troop, that Boy Scouts have "'tucked and run' from taking a stand since I was a scout." 

"ABT has not changed," Prevo wrote. "The Boy Scouts have." 

Prevo believes allowing scouts to meet in the building is akin to an endorsement of homosexuality, he wrote in the email. He pointed to Leviticus 18:22 and 1 Corinthians 6:9, verses of the Bible commonly cited by Christian opponents of homosexuality. 

Schneider does not entirely agree with the new Boy Scouts' policy, but he believes ABT is putting kids at the center of an issue that should be left to adults. 

"The noise of this issue has overcome what scouting is," Schneider said. "It's not just about camping and going out and learning to start fires. It's so much more than that, and it's completely lost in this one issue and the screaming back and forth." 

What is worst about the situation, Schneider believes, is that the core group of eight kids who have been members of the troop for years will dissolve if they are unable to find a new organization to function as a sponsor. And the message it conveys is amiss of a key Christian value, he said. 

"Jesus didn't walk with the rich, the wealthy and the pure," Schneider said. "If you don't want sinners in your building, why did you build (a church)?"

"ABT has not changed, the Boy Scouts have." Well that is certainly the truth.

Jerry Prevo has a long and sordid history of fighting to oppress the gay community in Alaska and was a driving force (Along with his lap dog Mayor Dan Sullivan) in defeating an ordinance that would have ended discrimination against the LGBT community in Anchorage.

He is a hatemonger from way back and has had an inordinate amount of influence over Anchorage politics for decades. Something that I hope we will see come to an end in the very near future.

I wish that the Boy Scouts would do more, such as allowing gays to serve as scout leaders, but this step has, at the very least, allowed those who were not terribly aware to identify which Christian leaders are following and espousing the Biblical message of Jesus Christ, and which ones are using the power of their pulpit to push their hateful agenda onto others.

By the way for those just now tuning in, that second part is describing this guy in the gray jacket to a T.

What is wrong with Anchorage? Update: Perhaps nothing.

Jerry Prevo, the force behind discrimination against the LGBT community in Alaska.

Late last night the votes were tallied in a municipal election with such an extraordinarily high turnout that it actually resulted in a shortage of ballots in many polling places.

I was very hopeful that THIS time the LGBT community would finally get the protection from discrimination that ALL citizens deserve.

I was mistaken:

With more than 90 percent of the precincts reporting late Tuesday, 58 percent of voters had voted against Proposition 5, the equal rights ordinance that was far and away the most controversial and emotional component of this spring's election. 

The  opposition to the ordinance was spearheaded by the Alaska Family Counsel's Jim Minnery, a lapdog for strident anti-gay crusader Jerry Prevo, who also preached against the ordinance from his pulpit at the Anchorage Baptist Temple.

And apparently even though Minnery ignorantly informed potential pro-discrimination voters that they could register and vote on election day, they STILL managed to bring out the numbers necessary to vote the ordinance down.

And this was NOT simply a case of Christians voting against the ordinance, there was also plenty of support FOR the bill by various Christian leaders in the area.

However Jerry Prevo has much influence in this town, and an expansive e-mail list with which he inundates people with misinformation and fear inspiring rhetoric.

And if all of that was not bad enough, the turnout in opposition to the bill also meant that Mayor Dan Sullivan easily won his bid for reelection.

Yeah, THIS Dan Sullivan, who for Anchorage conservatives and Christians, is the man of choice to run this city.

Go figure.

I went to bed last night with such hope for our city, and I have to admit it is extremely disappointing to wake up to this.  Come on Anchorage, I know you can do better.

Update: Gee who'da thunk it? Apparently there is a very good chance that the election was impacted by fraudulent voting.

Read more over at Bent Alaska.

If you thought we were all One Anchorage you were mistaken. But now there is hope to rectify that.

Early voting has started for the upcoming Municipal elections in Anchorage, and once again our citizens have the opportunity to cast an important vote to protect our still vulnerable LGBT community:

Right now in Anchorage there are no federal, state, or local laws of any kind protecting people from being unfairly fired or refused an interview because of their sexual orientation or transgender identity. In Anchorage, a woman can be fired solely because her employer believes she is a lesbian – for reasons having nothing to do with her job performance. A family headed by a responsible tenant with a perfect credit history could be kicked out of their home in a large apartment building – just because someone in the family were gay. 

All other Alaskans would be protected from this unfair and unequal treatment. The current Anchorage Municipal Code ensures Alaskans who work hard and play by the rules won’t be unfairly treated because of their race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, or physical or mental disability. Only lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Alaskans are excluded from these protections we all depend on. 

 No hardworking Alaskan should have to live in fear that she can be unfairly fired for reasons having nothing to do with job performance. 

As some of you may remember Anchorage already passed a similar ordinance over two years ago (During what was labeled our Summer of Hate), but it was vetoed by incoming Republican mayor, and Sarah Palin protegee, Dan Sullivan.

Back then they had to bus in hate spewing homophobes from Wasilla, and the Mat-Su Valley, to join Jerry Prevo in fighting this proposition, and it still passed! It was only because Palin had helped inflict our open minded community with a Right Wing pandering son-of-a-bitch that ALL of our citizens are not currently enjoying the protection of the already in place Municipal anti-discrimination laws right now!

So if you can, please join us in taking back our city from the forces of hate and repression, and giving ALL of our citizens the opportunity to work and live without fear of discrimination.

Thank you

Gryphen

P.S. And if you are in Anchorage, PLEASE do not forget to vote!

I can only imagine how much more beautiful Alaska would be if we could get rid of this ugliness.

You may remember this unbelievable douchebag as the guy who believes that homosexuality is caused by demons and has used exorcisms to pray the gay away.

Just one of the truly ugly parts of this great state.

(H/T to my friends over at Bent Alaska,)

Courageous Anchorage lawmaker decides to show local homophobic Baptist minister Jerry Prevo, that he is NOT above the law.

Jerry Prevo in the Anchorage Assembly chambers. That heavyset man on the right is his bodyguard. I kid you not.

From the pages of ADN:

An Anchorage lawmaker is asking the Alaska Legislature to undo a 2006 change in state law that stopped city governments from taxing church-owned homes occupied by religious school teachers. According to the municipal assessor's office, only one Anchorage church currently benefits from the 2006 amendment to the state tax code, and it's the same church that sought the amendment: the Anchorage Baptist Temple. 

Rep. Berta Gardner, a Democrat who represents Midtown, submitted the undo legislation on Monday as House Bill 305. The measure is co-sponsored by another Anchorage Democrat, Rep. Lindsey Holmes. 

"People support public services, we pay our taxes, and it just makes you really cranky to know you're also paying taxes for teachers at private religious schools," Gardner said in a phone interview from Juneau. 

The Daily News reported in January that the Anchorage Baptist Temple owns 14 houses exempt from taxes because they are occupied by ministers or teachers at the megachurch, including its chief pastor, the Rev. Jerry Prevo. 

Because none of the properties had been recently assessed, it was impossible to know precisely how much the exemptions were costing the city. Old assessment records indicate the total is more than $50,000 a year. 

The newspaper story also reported that evidence which emerged during the 2011 divorce trial of Prevo's son Allen, also a minister at the Baptist Temple, revealed that Allen had a secret agreement to purchase his home. The city is now investigating whether that deal, and similar agreements with three other pastors, violate state law that requires the church to own a property before it can be exempted. A city spokeswoman said this week that the investigation was nearing completion.

I applaud the introduction of this bill by Berta Gardner, and hope that she is prepared for the vitriol and hatred that is about to come her way.

You see Prevo is not a Christian in the tradition of Jesus Christ, he is a megalomaniac who does not believe that rules or laws pertain to him, and who uses his influence and fortune to punish those who dare to stand up to him.

In fact the reason that Prevo was able to get this sweetheart deal was that then state senator Lyda Green attached it to a bill in 2006, as she was directed to by then Senate President Ben Stevens, son of the late Senator Ted Stevens.

So like I said, Prevo has friends in high places. Low places too for that matter.

Personally I believe that churches should pay taxes just like any property owners.  After all they expect the police to protect them from crime, and the fire department to protect them from fire, so why can't they pay their fair share?

Especially somebody like Prevo whose congregation have made him a very wealthy man indeed.

Virginia University dormitories to be cleared of students in order to make way for Sarah Palin and her entourage/family. Update!

"Are you sure they're all gone?"

Courtesy of Joe's blog:

“a whole dorm full of students were told to go home for the weekend so that her entourage could stay there. Some of them were pretty bent out of shape.”

Yep you can't have any prying eyes around when the Palins come to town now can you?

Interesting that our very own Alaskan homophobic-in-chief Jerry Prevo currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Liberty University, don'tcha think?

You might remember Prevo as having joined Palin, along with Franklin Graham, in an effort to help her save face when she failed to come to the aid of the rural Alaskans during their time of crisis, and needed a grand gesture to convince people that she really DID care. She "accomplished" this by purchasing cookies, which she claimed to have made, and then handing them out to the wrong villagers.

(By the way did I mention that Prevo ALSO serves as a board member on Franklin Graham's "we'll help you if you convert" charity Samaritan's Purse?  Well he does.)

Palin should feel quite comfortable on the campus of Liberty University.  Founder Jerry Falwell was one of the last segregationists standing when the racist south was dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th Century:

Born and raised in America's segregated South, Falwell preached that racial segregation was the Lord's will, but dropped such overt racism from his perspective when it became unpopular to say such things aloud. Still, from his pulpit Falwell supported South African apartheid, and opposed Nelson Mandela's release from prison. In one of his earliest appearances in the national media, Falwell made headlines by criticizing Rev Martin Luther King for his political activism. "Preachers are not called to be politicians", said the young Falwell, "but to be soul winners". (Wow! Considering that THIS is the man who formed the Moral Majority, that is one ginormous piece of hypocrisy to swallow!)

It is not talked about much these days, but Falwell actually founded Lynchburg Baptist College, later to be called Liberty University, NOT because he was called by God to do so (as he would preach from his pulpit for the next thirty plus years), but because he was trying to keep those dirty "Negroes" separated from the nice Christian white students, after the desegregation of dorms became the rule of the day.

Unfortunately for the southern racists, eventually Falwell was forced to allow the "colored folks" to attend his school and live in his dorms.

But don't worry! On the weekend of October 8 they will be segregated once again, allowing ONLY Dominionism embracing Wasilla white trash to stay in its rooms!

Somewhere Jerry Falwell is smiling.  (And if there really IS a God that "somewhere" will be the fiery pits of hell!)

Update: Okay this is MUCH worse than I first thought.

The Liberty University kids will NOT have to give up their rooms to Palin and her supporters, the students being ejected are from neighboring Virginia University of Lynchburg.

Here is the report by WSET:

Students at The Virginia University of Lynchburg say they're not sure who they should blame for making them move out of their dorm rooms. 

VUL students have been living in two local motels that have been converted into dorms. But those motels are all booked next Thursday, Friday and Saturday because visitors are coming to see Sarah Palin at the Liberty University Women's Conference. 

Now, the students have to get out. 

Antwan Jenkins, an LU student staying at the Travel Lodge, says it's just not fair he has to repack all of his stuff, along with his pet lizard, just when he finally got his room the way he likes it. 

"Yeah we have to get everything up out of here, like we're going home for good," said Jenkins. 

University officials say it's been the plan since the students first moved in. 

"Sarah Palin is coming to town and those arrangements had been made long before we began to use the motels for students," said Dr. Ralph Reavis, the VUL president. 

Carlos Bodre, who's here from NYV, says it caught him off guard this week. He says it will cost him $250 for a train home to New York. "I ain't got a job so I ain't even got that money so I have to call my parents and let them know that they got to pay," said Bodre. 

Jasmin Coley, who lives at Travel Lodge, is planning for her mom to come get her from Washington, D.C. 

"It cost her a $100 to get here, which means coming and going and then bringing me back and then going back is $400 that we don't have. We're not rich," said Coley. 

Did anybody else happen to notice that seemingly ALL of these suddenly homeless students were African American? (Click the link to view the video)

Well surely we can't blame THAT on Sarah Palin. I mean that just must be a coincidence, right?

This is a very important post for my LGBT friends in Anchorage, Alaska. However everybody is welcome to read it and make comments.

I don't usually have guest bloggers but my friend Mel Green asked me to put this post up in order to reach out to the LGBT community here in town and hopefully persuade them to participate in a very important new poll.

My review shows that there is clearly a lack of quantifiable evidence necessitating this ordinance.

That’s what Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan stated on August 17, 2009 when he vetoed Anchorage Ordinance 2009-64, the Anchorage equal rights ordinance, which had been passed the previous week by a vote of 7 to 4 by the Anchorage Assembly.

AO 64 briefly added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of personal characteristics in Title 5, Anchorage’s equal rights code, which prohibits discrimination based on those characteristics in employment, housing, financial practices, education, and practices of the Municipality of Anchorage. Its passage on August 11, 2009, followed a protracted period of public testimony at the Anchorage Assembly, with accompanying sign-waving and letter-writing both by ordinance supporters and those who opposed equal rights.

We know there is discrimination in the Municipality of Anchorage against LGBT people. Indeed, we presented quantifiable evidence from two previous studies on sexual orientation and sexual orientation bias in Alaska and Anchorage. But those studies were conducted in the 1980s, and Mayor Sullivan chose to ignore both them and the firsthand testimony of more recent incidents of antigay/antitrans discrimination that Anchorage residents testified to before the Assembly.

Many of us know a friend or a loved one who has experienced discrimination. In the absence of legal protections, LGBT people — especially transgender individuals — are vulnerable to unfair treatment. We know those stories are out there. We just need to document them.

That’s why we need your help.

If you are an LGBT person who lives, works, or spends time in Anchorage — or if you’ve lived/worked/spent time in Anchorage in the past — please complete the Anchorage LGBT Discrimination Survey.

It takes about 10 minutes to complete the survey. All survey responses are completely confidential, and survey administration has been designed to ensure the privacy of all respondents.

We need your help whether or not you have personally experienced discrimination.

To make sure that there is only one person per survey, and to ensure that only members of the LGBT community participate, a valid PIN number is required for your survey to be counted. But it’s simple. Just:

1. Contact the Project Manager, Shelby Carpenter, at scarpenter@akclu.org or at 907.263.2006 to get a PIN.
2. Go to http://alaskacommunity.org/ to complete the survey.
3. Paper surveys are also available upon request.

The Community Survey Task Force has extended survey data collection to March 31, 2011 in order to give more people time to respond. Please pass the word along to other LGBT folks who live, work, or spend time in Anchorage, Eagle River, Chugiak, Peters Creek, Eklutna, Girdwood.

Thank you for your help with this important study!

P.S. This is Gryphen.  For any of you unfamiliar with what happened back in the summer of 2009, or as we refer to it "The Summer of Hate," my daughter and I made a video of what was taking place outside of the Loussac Library while the Anchorage Assembly was meeting and listening to testimony.

Boston judge rules federal marriage ban to be unconstitutional. And local hatemonger Jerry Prevo issues warning about a performance by a recently out of the closet Christian singer.

From CNN:

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that "as irrational prejudice plainly never constitutes a legitimate government interest," the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the protection under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Tauro ruled simultaneously in favor on two separate lawsuits that were filed by the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of eight same-sex married couples and three widows, and by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage has been permitted for over six years.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley called the ruling "a victory for civil rights." Coakley, who attended court Thursday for the ruling, told reporters, "All citizens who are married in Massachusetts should be treated equally."

Tauro ruled that in DOMA it was "only sexual orientation that differentiates a married couple entitled to federal marriage-based benefits from one not so entitled."

He added that "the relevant distinction to be drawn is between married individuals and unmarried individuals. To further divide the class of married individuals into those with spouses of the same sex and those with spouses of the opposite sex is to create a distinction without meaning,"

Score one for common sense and real American justice.

On a similar note our local gay bashing Baptist minister is losing his mind over an appearance in Anchorage from a recently out of the closet gay Christian singer.

WARNING

A popular ex-Christian song writer and singer will be performing at the Metropolitan Community Church, a Homosexual Church, this weekend.

Here is the article of his coming out.

September 12, 2008 4:24PM

Ray Boltz Comes Out

Mark Moring

Ray Boltz, who sold about 4.5 million records before retiring from Christian music a few years ago, came out of the closet Friday to announce that he's gay.

In an interview with the gay magazine The Washington Blade, Boltz said he came out to his family and some close friends in December 2004, but only now decided to go public with the news.

"One reason Boltz decided to come out now might be because he's performing Sunday at Jesus Metropolitan Community Church in Indianapolis, and then next Sunday, Sept. 21, at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. Both congregations are a part of a denomination that embraces the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community.

AND NOW HE IS PERFORMING HERE IN ANCHORAGE.

BEWARE

PASTOR PREVO

The all caps comes to us courtesy of the extremely frightened Jerry Prevo. (I did not even have to add them for emphasis.) 

Obviously the Reverend "Look out a gay!' Prevo is quite disturbed that a gay Christian singer dares to actually perform in HIS city.  But surely this is not the first time such a thing has happened. Why do we think that THIS particular gay singer has Prevo's panties in a wad? (And yes of course he wears women's underwear. I am pretty sure that ALL homophobic preachers do. It is like part of their uniform or something.)

I wonder if his intense discomfort could have anything to do with a certain post by this intrepid blogger back in October of 2009, in which the following was revealed:

When Mr. Clarey finally pried his lips off of Jerry's ass, the stage was taken by a middle aged man, with a powerful voice, who sang a very beautiful song to honor Pastor Prevo called "Thank You". I was actually quite moved, but not for the same reasons as the rest of the crowd.


What the congregation at large may not have been aware of is that the writer of that song, Ray Boltz, just came out of the closet last year and admitted that he was gay. (Damn it! They are everywhere!)

Oops!  How embarrassing!  So of course Prevo has to loudly proclaim his revulsion with Ray Boltz's appearance.  How else can he make sure that people do not believe that he even remotely supports dudes who like dudes?

Sadly so long as small minded people like Jerry Prevo exist, and use the Christian religion to provide cover for their hate and prejudice, helping our LGBT community attain the same rights enjoyed by everybody else will always remain an uphill battle. (H/T to Alaska Commons for calling my attention to this homophobic rant from the always perfectly groomed Jerry Prevo.)

Remembering the summer of hate in Anchorage.

Jesus I can't believe it has already been a year since that all happened.

My daughter was here and she and I made this video of what it was like to be among the protesters outside the Loussac Library during the Assembly meetings. (Sorry that some of the words are hard to read, my daughter was not used to putting things on YouTube and did not realize how it impacted the quality. But overall she made an EXCELLENT video!)



Well I guess I know where I am going this weekend.

Hopefully someday soon our city will put aside its hateful prejudicial ways and embrace ALL of the people who live and work among us.

One gay young man's story of abuse, prejudice , and believe it or not, exorcism in the Anchorage Baptist Temple.

RJ: I returned to Alaska and, since I had no place to stay, I told my father it was just a phase, moved back with him, and back into the closet. I tried to pray my gay away. I begged God. I would have given anything to be straight.

Editor: Is this when the exorcism took place?

RJ: Yes. I went back to ABT. They had been studying Bob Larson's "Deliverance" exorcism ministry. They had a class to teach how to cast out demons on Friday nights. There was a questionnaire to determine if I had done something to open a portal which leads to demonic possession. The questions were things like did I try to control the weather, change stop lights, read horoscopes, use tarot cards and, of course, have sex with a man.

Editor: What happened at the exorcism? Who was there?

RJ: The exorcism took place at ABT. There were others there as well. I sat down and started crying. The Board of Directors, deacons, classmates, and family prayed over us. They anointed us each with oil and tried to cast the demon out.

Please visit my friends at Bent Alaska to read the rest of this brave young man's incredible tale.

As some of you may know I have written about the Anchorage Baptist temple a number of times in the past.  Including a description of my visit to the belly of the beast.

We have a lot of things to be ashamed of in Alaska.  Sarah Palin, more than our share of corrupt politicians, Sarah Palin, the horrible way we treated the indigenous people of this land, Sarah Palin, the shooting of wolves from helicopters, Sarah Palin, just to name a few.  But perhaps one of our biggest sources of shame is that the Anchorage Baptist temple is the biggest, and most influential church in our state.

ABT is right about one thing, we are indeed sinners.  But not because of the lust in our heart, or the times we take the Lord's name in vain, or for loving somebody of the same gender.  No we are sinners for allowing a horrible place like the Anchorage Baptist temple to continue to poison the minds of our young people in their so-called "Christian schools" and send them out into our community without the ability to understand, or accept, or love those different than themselves.

The Alaska Commons reports on the future for the LGBT community in Anchorage and, just in time for Halloween, provides another look inside ABT.

After the uber-successful "Diversity Dinner" some have wondered what the LGBT crowd has in store next. Clicking the title of this post should answer that question for you.

As many of you know about a month ago I attended an anniversary service at the Anchorage Baptist temple. I had asked if any of my LGBT friends wanted to attend with me, and did not find any takers. Here John Aronno explains his hesitancy.

I couldn’t imagine walking into that “church”. Alaska Commons is not an anonymous blog (probably an oversight, in retrospect) and ABT has made their disapproval of me very well known. This site, and my email inbox, now has a devoted, albeit small, group of trolls who threaten and denigrate me at every opportunity (I had an op-ed in the Northern Light a couple weeks ago about the concept of holding doors open for people and driving safely, and got blasted for that!). We’ve had to go unlisted, and have had a few public issues. Even one earlier this evening, at Fred Myer, where a man locked eyes with me and stood in my way, demanding an apology.

Weird times.

It is always difficult for me to understand how an organization that claims to base it's set of values on the teachings of Jesus Christ can encourage this kind of behavior. But they do.

And if you don't believe that then you need to take a moment to watch this frightening YouTube video that John put together.



"Crushing the enemy under our feet". No you did not hear that wrong.

I was sitting in the audience when they were singing that song and watched the congregation, with heads lifted toward the heavens, belt out that song with both conviction and passion.

They DO believe with all of their hearts that they are fighting a battle against the devil, and that the LGBT community are his agents here on earth.

Is it any wonder that I found no takers to accompany me on that Sunday? Who could blame them?

I on the other hand? Well that is a different story altogether.

Indiana Gryphen and the Temple of Baptists.

Today I visited the Anchorage Baptist Temple which served as ground zero for the anti-homosexual fervor that swept through my city this summer as the Anchorage Assembly voted to pass Ordinance 64 which would have provided the same rights for the LGBT community to live and work in Anchorage that everybody inside this monstrous building took for granted.

Of course that was before Prevo's lapdog, and our current sorry excuse for a mayor, Dan Sullivan vetoed it.

This Sunday was a special Sunday at ABT because it was the 38th anniversary of Jerry Prevo's ministry. Yep thirty eight years of putting down homosexuals and begging for handouts. How could I miss it?

The huge parking lot was fairly bulging with cars, and I found myself amazed at just how many people are members of this church. And as you can see for yourself from the picture, the building itself is ginormous!

Inside the building was opulent and I could almost smell the money wafting through the ventilation system. Inside the auditorium itself, I was amazed at the vaulted ceilings, professional lighting, and huge stage that would be the absolute envy of theater companies anywhere in Alaska.

Even the PAC in Anchorage had nothing on this place.

They had four, count them four, large Digi Power 72 cameras placed strategically throughout the auditorium to record and broadcast Prevo's sermon for those Baptists too sick to attend, but perhaps not too sick to write a check.

When I sat down Prevo was just wrapping up his morning service and was oddly enough talking about how nobody thought he would ever amount to anything, and look how famous he had become with all of his accomplishments, delivered as some sort of message on the importance of humility. Yeah I did not get it either.

The 11:00 session started off with a song containing a strong military flavor that invoked images of "soldiers of light" and the "crushing of enemies". It made me wonder if they were confusing Jesus with Rambo?

After that Glenn Clarey took the stage and started the beatification of Pastor Prevo. According to Mr. Clarey Jerry was just barely this side of the "walk on water, make water into wine" guy that I thought this place was built to worship. (One very interesting fact that was mentioned is that, according to a Focus on the Family study, "fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry every month, or 2-3 a day. When I heard that my first thought was, "See these people can be helped".)

Then Mr. Clarey launched into how proud they all are to have a minister like Jerry Prevo who did not abandon his flock and who "bravely" fought against the "homosexual ordinance" this summer. Oh yeah suppressing human rights is heroic indeed!

After that my sensibilities were assaulted with a video homage to Pastor Jerry, which ended with yet another reminder of his "victory over the homosexuals". (They simply could not seem to stop talking about this subject!) This was followed by a standing ovation from the congregation. (Now I know why none of my gay friends wanted to come with me.)

Afterward we were exhorted to give Prevo a "love offering" to show our appreciation for all of his hard work and sacrifice. (You know bashing those gays really works up a sweat.)

When Mr. Clarey finally pried his lips off of Jerry's ass, the stage was taken by a middle aged man, with a powerful voice, who sang a very beautiful song to honor Pastor Prevo called "Thank You". I was actually quite moved, but not for the same reasons as the rest of the crowd.

What the congregation at large may not have been aware of is that the writer of that song, Ray Boltz, just came out of the closet last year and admitted that he was gay. (Damn it! They are everywhere!)

After the song, while still wiping his eyes, Prevo took to the podium, and without a hint of irony, started talking about the recent funeral of George Sullivan (our current mayor's father) and HIS brave stand against the homosexuals. He then followed that up by making the statement "If YOUR pastor did not stand up against this homosexual ordinance last summer, you should fire him!" This was followed by a standing ovation from the mostly middle aged, slightly chunky crowd. (Just how close is that damn exit door anyhow?)

So not only is Jerry Prevo openly promoting hatred toward the gays, he is promoting the punishment of any other Christian minister who does not agree with him. Wow! Now THAT is some set of balls on this guy!

For the meat of his sermon today Prevo chose to preach on, and I kid you not about this, "The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs". Apparently a story that I have read over a hundred times to thousands of young children is actually a Christian morality play. Who knew?

Anyhow, according to Prevo, the sin that the pigs engaged in was not "building their lives with the right stuff". Now what is the "right stuff" you may ask? Well apparently it is constant church attendance, adherence to the Word of God, and tithing. Yep apparently if you give God protection money, by way of tithes, he will take care of you and provide you with material things like "good wine", "good food", and "prosperity".

If you fail to do that then you will be "blown to hell" by the Wolf/Satan.

I looked around to see if anybody else found this analogy as ridiculous as I did and I did manage to see a few furrowed brows trying to make sense of Prevo's bastardization of a children's story to make a point about morality and giving money to his church. (Well good there are some thinkers in the crowd.)

As he was wrapping things up (and that soft spiritual music started wafting through the speakers) Prevo reminded any visitors that they could come back to the VIP room and he would meet them face to face.

What? You can actually meet and talk to the gay bashing Jerry Prevo face to face if you want? Do I dare?

Are you new here? Of course I was going to stay and meet Pastor Jerry!

In the VIP room there were doughnuts and yet another video extolling the virtues of the Anchorage Baptist Temple and Jerry Prevo, and ending, I kid you not, on his work to suppress gay rights. (I guess that leaves no doubt as to exactly HOW Prevo defines his ministry.)

I shook a few hands and gave my name, my REAL name, to a number of junior pastors who were quite pleasant and very cordial. (Not one of them batted and eye or seemed to recognize me by name, which means I guess even members of ABT don't listen to Eddie Burke's crappy radio show.)

I then noticed Jerry Prevo enter the room and slowly made my way over to him.

After he had greeted a few other newcomers, he turned his attention to me.

Now Prevo's reaction was somewhat different then that of his junior pastors, he DID recognize me. And that was very evident by the look that came over his face. When I gave my real name, he asked me how he knew me, with one suspicious eyebrow raised. I mentioned that I had interviewed him at the Assembly meeting back in August. Oh, he said and followed up with "and what brings you here"?

Now I am not one to be rude to somebody in their home without provocation, and I did not come to start trouble, so I simply said I had come to check out his church and congratulated him on his sermon. (I know, but I was trying to be non-threatening.) Prevo's face, which had appeared a bit troubled, relaxed and he warmly smiled and said "well I hope you will join us again sometime". He then patted me on the shoulder and walked off to greet other new visitors.

As I made the long walk back to my car I thought to myself, I wonder how long before Prevo puts two and two together and realizes who he just talked to, and I wonder how different my reception might be if I take him up on his offer and decide to infiltrate his temple in the future.

Well THAT is an adventure for another time.

Is church attendance more important than saving your business? Saving your marriage? Caring for your children? Jerry Prevo thinks it is.

The Reverend Prevo, of mega church Anchorage Baptist Temple and "hating the gays" fame, tries to convince his congregation that they must come every Sunday and give him their money in order to have a happy life.

And the egomanaical shall lead them. Is that in the bible?

In his mind apparently the only conduit to happiness and eternal salvation is through his ministry.

What is it the the Bible says about false prophets?

2 Pet 2:2 [NIV] Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

2 Pet 2:3 [NIV] In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Sometimes I have to wonder if the people in this "church" have even bothered to read the book they claim to hold so dear?

This Sunday at 11:00 ABT is going to celebrate 38 years of Jerry Prevo's particular hateful brand of Christianity and its impact on my state and its people. I think I may have to show up to this little soiree and see for myself just how self delusional these people really are.

(By the way if you click the title of this post it will take you to the Alaska Commons where you can read their take on Prevo and his minions. And I let me offer them a hat tip for bringing my attention to this unsettling video.)

Jerry Prevo would like to invite you to come celebrate 38 years of oppressing human rights in Anchorage, Alaska.

You know there are a lot of things of which I am proud.

I am proud that I helped children overcome adversity, learn to read, and set them on the path to becoming educated, well rounded adults.

I am proud that I taught women to defend themselves against those who would victimize them.

I am proud that I have lived my life trying to put the needs of others before my own. I am by no stretch of the imagination perfect, but I do try to be better tomorrow than I was yesterday.

And then there are the things I am not so proud of.

The times when I used aggression against assholes instead of words, when I carelessly broke somebody's heart or let one of my friends down, and not being there for my daughter when I was working two jobs and in a constant state of exhaustion. The memory of those lapses still makes me sad.

So I cannot imagine how badly I would feel if I had spent the majority of my life fighting to keep the rights that I take for granted from others on the grounds that they do not love in a manner I find acceptable. Or that I had used the teachings of Jesus Christ to lend gravitas to my prejudice and hate.

No I could never take pride in that.

But then I am not Jerry Prevo.

Perhaps next Sunday, as Jerry prepares to celebrate his many, many years of fighting against human rights, it would be instructive for him to look up from his podium and witness an audience full of the very people he has spent a lifetime oppressing.

I am just saying.

(H/T to Alaska Commons for the picture.)