Prayer For Discrimination

The LA Times is reporting that a group of young church goers are holding a prayer vigil in support of the controversial proposition 8. The group holding this vigil are hoping their prayers will be answered and have discrimination enshrined in the California's constitution.

Among the more shocking parts of the story are that these young people have no regular jobs, other than to pray.

But what distinguishes Huff and many of the young people she prays with at Skyline Church here is that after the election, they will not return to normal life.

Praying and fasting are their job.

They have forsaken traditional lives to live in communal homes -- supported by donations --and pray. All day, every day.

This year, the focus of their prayers is ending gay marriage.

There are other religious groups opposed to the passage of proposition 8.

The prayer and fasting have discomfited some religious leaders who oppose Proposition 8.

"I am a person of prayer," said the Rev. Susan Russell, a lesbian and an Episcopal priest at All Saints Church in Pasadena. But she said she does not believe prayer is "a weapon to be used to influence the political process." That, she said, "takes us down a slippery slope from democracy to theocracy."

With a large amount of funding coming in from Utah to help the passage of the proposition, the plight of the gay community cannot be ignored. Even if the vote fails this November you can rest assured it will be back on the ballot as often as the religious right can get a vote for it.

See the full story here.