Just how well do you 'Know Thy Neighbor'? If you live in Florida, you may be able to find out.
The Christ Church of Peace in Jacksonville, Florida, has launched a campaign in which they publish the names of people who signed a petition to get an anti-gay marriage initiative on the Florida ballot.
Why? First, to help weed out fraudulent signatures. Second, to provide a tool for people who discover that their next-door neighbor signed the thing.
Organizers hope that gay people and their friends and family can use this information to begin a face-to-face dialogue with the petition-signers and tell them first-hand about the ways in which anti-gay bills like this actually affect real people, even people they know. Their next-door neighbors, for example.
'Know Thy Neighbor' was originally started in Massachusetts for a similar situation.
This kind of political organizing is brilliant. It pulls the curtain back on bigotry. It enables conversation. And it's all being masterminded by a church, no less.
Someone asked me if it's "fair" to make the names public. My answer: Absolutely.
Pro-gay Know Thy Neighbor Campaign Comes to Florida (The Advocate)
See Who's on the List (Christ Church of Peace)
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23 comments:
The state should hold the ones that created the list responsible financially if one name on the list is attacked over this list... Lawsuits should be covered under this legal situation and sue to the heap... A person should be able to vote for or against something they do not believe in... This proves that: Freedom to make up an individual's mind about a situation is being eroded away... All our freedoms are slowly and quietly being erased until the day America will become as the Soviet's was before the cold war... If a person objects or decides that they do not want to live in a community where such acceptance is allowed, its their freedom to vote or move ... Same goes for those who do accept likewise...
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, PERIOD
Oh c'mon. How is that fair? Perhaps we should start making a list of people who would vote for pro-gay initiatives and have anti-gays "converse" with them. No, I don't like bigotry towards gays, but I get especially incensed when that bigotry is turned the other way around.
People should have the right to have a certain sense of privacy when voting for these kinds of things. Next thing you know, people are going to feel pressured to vote for things they don't necessarily agree upon just to avoid confrontation with their neighbor.
why not list all the names of gays in a site so we can know if our neighbors are perverts deviants and immoral?
that church should mind its own business. if they used the bible that they profess to teach they would see that it teaches that homosexuality is unatural, and thast those who practice it will not inherit God's kingdom.it also teaches that God loves all people . he just hates unatural prafctices.
Not sure this is even lawful!? And it is an invasion of someone's privacy. But what you will not be able to obtain a list of is the names on our state ballots which may not be in your favor! You know it is things like this that 'homo's' have always done that causes some of the problems of their not being accepted in my opinion they were always extrememly pushy!
Just how do you expect us to accept you and your 'Little Gay' marriages if you do not accept us, came into this site to check it out and it hits right in the face? This is not about anything or anybody but you - not us (the non-gay) how do we come together when it hits me right in the face on this site? Would suggest instead of making it so obviously totally against all non-gay/lesbian now why would you want to do that? Aren't you just doing the oposite of what you should be?
What welcomed me to your site here as a nongay/lesbian entering i saw putting down Macy's, putting down those voting against gay marriage and getting their name and address off of a form and going to their residence so now you have made me on the defensive in several areas already, use some different tactics! There are of course ways to get things accomplished that may work better aren't some of you in the business field then you should know how to make a sale or sell your product. And yo better hurry yo yo cause getting tired and annowed with it all woa is me
Not an act worthy of a church with the word "Peace" in it.
For one the word bigot refers to intolerance of something .. I am not, I firmly believe in live and let live. Marriage has always been between 2 people of the opposite sex and should stay that way..A legal and binding contract without the word marriage would be for anything that is different from what we know as marriage..and I would sign my name and not worry about what others thought..I think the real bigots here are the ones who are intolerant of what we have always known and want the world to change just for them.A church is just a building,,doesn't mean it teaches God's word. This is not an anti-gay bill, it's a bill to protect marriage as we know it. The word bigotry was used to describe how people treated people who looked differently and now it has taken on a new meaning.. as if we are guilty of something for not embracing what we are not a part of.
Oh and i forgot one thing, in florida a law was just passed that if you are in fear for your life..you can use deadly force. I would be very careful of going to someones home or in public. confronting
The comments are REALLY interesting on here. Should the people who signed the anti-gay petition be ashamed that they did so? If the answer is no, then why should they care if their names get published for everyone to see (which is perfectly legal by the way.)
This campaign isn't turning bigotry the "other way around" as you say, theyaldabaoth, it's simply a way of shining some light on what people say they stand for. It's about accountability, and petition drives are public record.
Why do I get the sense that people are so uncomfortable with the idea? Is it because they're actually ashamed of their anti-gay actions? Where is the courage of your conviction?
If you're going to put gays down, do it. But don't hide behind a false argument that it invades your privacy for people to talk about it.
Kenneth/Editor
No, my neighbors are just honest decent people who despise those diviate, degenerate perverts who are coming out now. Its as simple as that.. Perverts have been with us for a long time, we just dont have to accept them in any way.. thats all !!!
i think ppl should stop this hate for gays its just wrong and to say its a moral issue is like saying GOD is hate this is just horrible reminds me of how blacks were treated years ago. the religious fanatics and their hate is the true sin here and i pray they get some wisdom in their lives instead of hate for fellow human beings. they are no better that ppl who fly airplanes into buildings because of religious beliefs and hate of others who share different beliefs. this is pure sin in the name of GOD who is without sin.
we should ask all of our neighbors the same question. Since taking his office are we as American's beeen better off with the Bush bunch? We are supposedly a democracy yet there is very little of it, if any, in his approach to government. he demands it for iraq but not for his own country so whats wrong with this picture? p.s.When the economy fails the rich really suffer, even moreso than the average guy who has been cutting corners all his life. and its the wealthy who voted him in, , they'll vote him out
I'm curious about this list pro-homosexual people want to be revealed so the signers can be labeled bigots.
If they were around to do so, would we find the names...God, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the 12 disciples, Paul and all the rest of the early Christians?
If your answer is no, then you're having trouble with lucidity.
melmohrock@aol.com
This is a scary thing. It's the same basic premise... as if you signed a petition for gay marriage... and there was a search engine so that people could engage you in dialogue about why they believe homosexuality is wrong. You would feel vulnerable and targeted. yuk!!! Personally, I forgot to sign the petition... but I think publishing lists on websites towards either side of the gay marriage debate is a bad thing to do. It could lead to hate crime.
kidzpastor35: the petition you forgot to sign is a hate crime in my view.
And no one has yet answered my question about why people who take the time to engage in politics (like signing petitions) are then so afraid of having their name attached to their actions?
What do you stand for if not that? Do you think your petition signatures putting down gay people happen in a vacuum? They don't. They are real, and they affect real people.
Sorry, but all your complaints about not wanting to be identified as being against gay marriage sound like shame or embarrassment more than anything else.
Unless someone wants to explain otherwise?
Kenneth/Editor
I don't care if you're gay, but I'm sick and tired of hearing about Gay issues on a daily almost hourly basis in everyday life. Your sexual preference is your business...NOT MINE ! So why don't you just appreciate the fact that you live in a country that doesn't HANG you for being Queer....because no matter what you say...loving ( in a sexual context ) another person of the same sex is NOT normal.
I actually have friends that are gay...but they don't run around everyday raising hell about getting more rights, more attention and attempting to have congressional outlays of additional rights granted them simply because their sexual preference is what it is. That type of attitude is precisely the kind of behavior that induces dislike and disgust amongst all the individuals in this country that don't happen to have the same outlook on this issue !
Why don't you simply enjoy your own life and enjoy the SAME constitutional rights as everyone else (the majority) in this country.
Blown away with your arrogance,
Johnny Tyler
I have no trouble with gay marriage being the mother of a gay young man. However, I do have problems with names and addresses of ANY petition being released to the general population.
I am pro-choice. Some very radical Right to Lifer's got my name and address and I was in fear of my life as they came to my door to confront me. I am not ashamed of my position of being pro-choice however, I am afraid of the radical fringe of any group.
Since my name was released I have had to deal with flat tires, loosen bults (that hold on the tires) and I have to deal with vandalism.
For the same reason I would never publicly identify myself as a mother of gay man, no matter how proud I am of my son no matter how much I love my son I know that the moment I put his name out there or my name out there on any petition we could possibly be open for attack by a radical fringe group.
Putting people's names and possible addresses out there who sign a petition can possible put their lives in danger (no matter what the issue is).
kidzpastor35: the petition you forgot to sign is a hate crime in my view.
I believe the last part of your sentence sums it up.... "in your view."
And I would not be ashamed to have my name on a list or even published... but we are living in an age where there are some freaky ones roaming our steeets. I don't think names on either side of the debate should be posted on some website so others can start a discourse to try to change the other's mind. If there was a website that listed homosexual men so that people could engage them in a discussion about why they believe that homosexuality was wrong.... well....you think about it. It wouldn't be safe for those men. I wouldn't want those men's names published... I care enough to want them safe. How's that for hate. LOL
And as far a gay marriage... gays already have the right to marry. The definition of a traditional marriage has to be changed if homosexuals get what they perceive as their rights.
Every American citizen already has the right to marry. (someone of the opposite gender) Let's just get down the nuts and bolts of it.... the definition has to be changed in order to provide what gays want. In fact, some statistics from some European countries where the definition of traditional marriage has changed, says that after this "victory" was won.... very few gays took advantage of it. Interesting... I wonder why.
I'm not being sarcastic... I'm wondering why a group of people who worked so hard to achieve something, would then not use what was afforded them. I wonder if it's not really that gays want to marry, but just achieving the societal view... that this is an accepted alternative lifestyle. "See the law says it is."
Who knows.
I love this list. I may live in Maryland, but my brother lives in Florida. Its great and should be done for all states
Not everyone who responds in opposition to this kind of thing is "anti-gay." It might enlighten you to know that some of us might actually be gay or have friends that are gay and still be opposed to this.
This gay rights issue continues to be thrown in the face of people who honestly...don't care all that much. I mean, people have their own issues to deal with, and to have to sit there and worry about who can get married to who...life is just too short to have to deal with someone else's problems. Circulating a petition like this forces people to think about something they wouldn't otherwise. I'm sure if these petitions were never circulated, and the government just did what they had to do without making so much fuss about it, the world would not end and people would actually move on with their lives without so much as a care about this kind of thing. (It's an election year...and they're just using gays to get people impassioned with this whole gay marriage non-issue, and you guys are feeding them!) I'm kind of upset petitions like that have to be circulated in the first place. I wish the government would just go on and give gays the marriage rights they keep asking for so that the rest of us can move on with our lives without having this issue blown in our face all the time.
I honestly...don't care. And I'm kind of miffed at myself for responding to this (twice) when I actually don't give a damn. I mean, half of all people who get married get a divorce anyway, so the institution of marriage is already confused...so why not just give the gays what they want and let's move on! Some people are dying to get OUT of their marriages! Why anyone would WANT to get married so bad is beyond me....
Hehe, I have to take all of this with a sense of humor. Listen, you're here, you're queer, we're use to it...let's move on.
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