Task Force Calls Rick Warren's Stance 'an Affront to Our Common Humanity'

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responds to Rick Warren's comment over the weekend that "you don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand." Warren, who has been tapped to give the invocation at President-elect Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration, is an outspoken opponent of marriage equality, reproductive choice and stem-cell research. He was a staunch supporter of Proposition 8 and has gone so far as to equate the marriages of same-sex couples with incest and pedophilia. In defending his positions, Warren has argued in part that he has "gay friends" and has "eaten dinner in gay homes."

Statement by Darlene Nipper, Deputy Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

"Rick Warren says even though we don't see eye to eye, we can walk hand in hand. He says he loves gay people, has 'gay friends' and has 'eaten dinner in gay homes.' Don't just tell us you love us, Mr. Warren -- show us. Your outspoken support for discriminatory measures such as Proposition 8 has made our families more vulnerable to violence, bigotry and economic distress. Your support for stripping our families of fundamental rights and protections is not an act of love; it is a profoundly harmful act. Your call for us to walk hand in hand, even as you advocate for our second-class status, is an affront to our community, demeans our common humanity, and makes a mockery of the principles of fairness and equality."