BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: As the presidential candidates step up their campaigns in the sates with the first primaries and caucuses, a group called Faith in America is trying to make gay rights an election issue. Those speaking out for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, known as the LGBT, are led by a former United Methodist minister, Jimmy Creech, who was defrocked for marrying a gay couple. Creech speaks of trying to end what he calls religion-based bigotry. This past week, the Faith in America group ended its campaign in South Carolina with a town hall debate in Greenville between Christian evangelicals and the campaign's organizers. Reverend JIMMY CREECH (Executive Director, Faith in America): We believe that when people understand the larger context in which religion has been misused to justify discrimination that they will better understand how it's being misused today against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Reverend Jimmy Creech Reverend Jimmy Creech ABERNETHY: In response, a group of evangelical ministers has taken issue with Faith in America's charge that the Bible has been misinterpreted. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week1111/newsfeature.html Author: hatecrimesbill Keywords: "Call to Courge" "Jimmy Creech" Greenville SC "South Carolina" Added: July 19, 2008
