| May 15, 2007
Dear Center Members and Supporters,
As you have probably heard by now, Rev. Jerry Falwell, televangelist and founder of the Moral Majority passed away today in Virginia.
Jerry Falwell was one of the first and most visible advocates of a more-than-30-year-old movement to bring fundamentalist Christianity into the political sphere in ways that are particularly vicious and painful to millions of LGBT people around the country. While in the 1960s, religious leaders like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sought to expand the circle of liberty, the Moral Majority and related groups later sought to restrict that circle and impose limitations on those who differed from their fundamentalist viewpoints.
He blamed gays and lesbians for the tragedies of September 11. He fought to block civil rights for LGBT Americans. And he helped turn the Republican party over to religious fanatics who seek to force their particular brand of extremism on all of us.
Perhaps this will signal the end of an era and allow us to find ways to live and co-exist in a pluralistic democracy.
We wish Rev. Falwell’s family as much peace and comfort as is possible during what will most surely be a difficult time for them.
Sincerely
Thom Lynch
Executive Director |
