1000 watt march to confront focus on the family
This summer, dozens of families from across the country will come together with Soulforce to confront the homophobic rhetoric of James Dobson and Focus on the Family in an event called: The 1000 Watt March, Vigil, and Concert: Shedding the Powerful Light of Truth on the Anti-Gay Dishonesty of Focus on the Family.On July 17, same-gender couples, families with children, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and straight friends will undertake a week-long justice march which will commence from the steps of the Colorado State Capitol building. A diverse selection of families from across America will participate in the 65-mile “relay” style march; each group of families taking turns walking a 4-mile segment during the week until they reach the headquarters of Focus on the Family.
The purpose of the march is to help America connect the dots between the defamatory rhetoric that flows from Focus on the Family and the legislative assault on the civil liberties of LGBT people and their families.
On July 22, actor Chad Allen and Judy Shepard, executive director of The Matthew Shepard Foundation, will lead the crowd in a final 2-mile march from Rampart Park in Colorado Springs to the headquarters of Focus on the Family. The crowd will encircle James Dobson’s headquarters, joining hearts and hands in vigil as they peacefully call on him to cease his defamation of the LGBT community. Afterwards, Broadway star Billy Porter will protest in song outside Focus on the Family, with an electrifying jazz concert that celebrates the lives of all people and loving relationships that seek the American dream.
“Among dozens of other harmful lies, James Dobson says that families like mine are destroying the institution of marriage, harming children, and posing a threat to American society,” says Jeff Lutes, executive director of Soulforce, an organization that uses nonviolent methods to confront anti-gay religious discrimination. “Because of Dobson’s wealth, power, and direct ties to the Bush administration, those lies are being used to justify legislative discrimination and bigotry at the local, state and federal level.”
To find out more about the Soulforce 1000 Watt March, Vigil and Concert, please see: www.soulforce.org/1000wattmarch.