You Can't Pray Gay People Away From Their Homes

by Michael Jones · 2010-08-24 08:35:00 UTC
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Having worked for a Catholic organization in the past, plus being someone who generally enjoys religion despite its crazy faults, I've been to my fair share of vigils. Vigils to end the death penalty?  Too many to count. Vigils to stop the war? Multiple times. Vigils to end cancer? Yup (and that one was quite moving).

There's definitely a time and place for throwing a vigil. There's also a wrong time and place to throw a vigil, not to mention a totally senseless and ridiculous time to throw a vigil. Case in point, a group of anti-gay religious leaders in Toronto who dressed up in suits and carried their Bibles to a house in Leslieville. Their goal? To pray away gay residents from the neighborhood.

Yes, to paraphrase Bon Jovi, these are the types of peeps who give religion a bad name.

The folks came from a Church known as Highfield Road Gospel Hall. They go door-to-door carrying out their evangelical mission, but when they stumble upon a gay household, the apparently page other members of their flock to organize a demonstration. And they've been successful at least once before, driving a lesbian couple so batty that the couple decided to move.

Video of the demonstration is after the jump. Thankfully, many residents in the neighborhood decided to confront the folks at Highfield Road Gospel Hall. These neighbors saw the demonstration as nothing short of bullying and harassment. Which is essentially what it's called when you show up at the doorstep of someone's home and call them a sinner.

Per the Torontoist: "What makes this incident noteworthy is its context within Toronto's relatively tolerant religious commixture: overzealous evangelism is uncommon here, and this type of interference is seen by many as a form of harassment. Torontonians are known for welcoming people of all beliefs into the cultural fabric, but we're also protective of our citizens' right to live in peace."

Yes, don't let this incident give Toronto a bad name.


Photo credit: josephpetepickle

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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