“The bullies at Big Gay won this round. Bigotry wins, while tolerance, diversity, truth, religious liberty and freedom of speech lose.”

Pressure from gays pushes pastor off inaugural agenda

By Dave Boyer and Cheryl Wetzstein

The festivities are still more than a week away, but President Obama and his inaugural planning team already are suffering political pain as they lay out the agenda for the big day.

The latest hit came Thursday when the evangelical Atlanta pastor whom Mr. Obama helped pick to give the benediction for the inauguration abruptly withdrew amid mounting complaints from gay-rights groups over his past comments condemning homosexuality and referring to it as a “sin.”

The Rev. Louie Giglio, pastor of the Passion City Church in Atlanta, whose selection for the Jan. 21 ceremony had just been announced Tuesday, said he withdrew because his participation would “be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration.”

“Neither I, nor our team, feel it best serves the core message and goals we are seeking to accomplish to be in a fight on an issue not of our choosing, thus I respectfully withdraw my acceptance of the president’s invitation,” Mr. Giglio said.

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“What is shocking is the intolerance of the Obama team that put such a high priority on forced acceptance of homosexuality that they totally disregard Pastor Giglio’s life work combating human trafficking,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. 

“What we are seeing is the inauguration of a new era of religious intolerance in America.”

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