Wedded Blitz

Marry quite contrary:I very much enjoyed C.J. Janovy's "Queer Bait" (June 17). I am a straight Democrat who believes very strongly in civil rights, and I believe that gay marriage is a civil rights issue.

I belong to a local political club for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Democrats and their straight allies. As a married woman, I recognize that I enjoy many rights and privileges that my gay friends and neighbors do not, simply because they cannot marry the people they care about and are deeply committed to. I, too, have been impressed with Mike Sager and Vicki Walker for their brave stands on the issue. I wish that more politicians would follow their lead. Thanks for shedding some light on this issue.

Last weekend, we celebrated the anniversary of the legalization of interracial marriage. I cannot wait to celebrate a similar anniversary for the legalization of gay marriage. I look forward to the time when a handful of hateful zealots are proven to be as wrong and as completely out of date as the racists of the '60s.

Kelly McCambridge-Parker
Kansas City, Missouri

Marrying kind: In response to C.J. Janovy's article, it should be pointed out that in the Jackson County area, there are both Democratic candidates and Democratic organizations who are taking a strong public stand against the anti-gay marriage amendment.

The Committee for County Progress (CCP), Jackson County's oldest Democratic political-reform organization, became the first mainstream Democratic organization to oppose inserting bigotry into our state constitution on June 7. The CCP adopted a resolution proposed by Ed Rucker, its endorsed candidate for state representative in the 39th District, to oppose the anti-gay marriage amendment.

The CCP resolution states, "We oppose the passage of this phony and foolish amendment" and provides that "our opposition is [to be] communicated clearly and loudly to the press and in all our mailings this election season."

Jackson County Democrats are the heirs of Harry Truman. We don't tolerate bigotry, and we're not shy about taking our stand public.

Philip F. Cardarella
Vice President of the Committee for County Progress
Kansas City, Missouri

Cross Training
Bible study: Tony Ortega's scattershot method of writing on several indirectly related subjects in one column does little justice to any of the issues he brought up in "Unholy Roller" (June 10). Had Mr. Ortega done any research on the topics he approached, he would have more than enough material for many, many columns for the Pitch to print.

The rewrite of the Bible that Mr. Tammeus of The Kansas City Star brought up has been in the works since the discovery of Nag Hammadi in 1945, a collection of the oldest original scriptures hidden by Jewish monks from the advent of the emerging violent Christian Church, around 390 A.D. This has given theologians and scholars the oldest and least edited versions of "scripture," before the Catholic and subsequent churches "changed" it.

While you may not appreciate the work of Vern Barnet, calling him a "bleeding heart" is such a personal attack, and it should be apologized for. I have met Mr. Barnet only once, about six years ago at a retreat, but the memory of his kindness and genial demeanor stays with me today. Had the Christian Church been filled with people like Vern, I would still be a Christian today.

Tony missed a wonderful opportunity to contrast a truly spiritual man against the worst Christianity can offer, a minister who attacks his own followers with insults and preconceived judgments. We are as God created us. Vern would have told you that.

Jeff Chapman
Kansas City, Missouri

A room with a pew:I am writing this letter in regards to the article written about Pastor Jon Purkey. I was extremely upset and amazed at how Tony Ortega could make Pastor Jon seem like such a horrible person. Pastor Jon is one of the most caring, helpful, kind and considerate people I have ever met, and I just wanted to say that Ortega got his story completely wrong.

One of the first things that caught my eye was: " ... a call for cash went out, and a metal bucket was passed around the room." Ortega made this seem like a bad thing, when every church does it. It's called an offering. This is what a large church like the Lenexa Christian Center depends on.

How can Ortega be such a hypocrite? He says Pastor Jon bashes Muslims, but tell me, what is Ortega doing in this story? Bashing Christians. The reason Pastor Jon was "bashing Muslims" was because he was trying to make a point. If you read in the Bible, John 14:6 clearly states: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This means that Muslims, along with people from countless other religions, will not inherit the kingdom of God. So I believe this is the point Jon was trying to make.

Ortega didn't seem to care about the thousands of people who have come to know Christ through Pastor Jon and how many teenagers are able to get away from things like drugs and alcohol by coming to Oneighty and hearing Pastor Jon preach.