Philadelphia Freedom Fest Honors GLBT Pioneers

May 2, 2005

PHILADELPHIA — A Methodist minister who had been defrocked for being in a lesbian relationship, then was reinstated, called for an end to discrimination against gays in a speech to hundreds of supporters at celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the nation's first gay rights protest.

Other faith traditions out there have tried to shut us down and tell us we're not worthy, said the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, who spoke at an interfaith service Sunday. I pray for a day when no one will experience discrimination.

Stroud, who was defrocked after she told her Philadelphia congregation that she was in a relationship with another woman, was reinstated by a Methodist court last week. The decision could be overturned if leaders with the United Methodist Church decide to appeal.

She did not mention the controversy directly, but said: My journey is not over.

Earlier in the day, police estimated between 2,000 and 3,000 gay-rights supporters converged on Independence Hall to celebrate the 40th anniversary of what some have called the first gay rights demonstration.

On July 4, 1965, a group of 40 protesters marched in front of Independence Hall to denounce public policies that labeled gays as mentally ill and a national security risk. The demonstration came four years before the Stonewall Riots in New York City, considered by many to have launched the equal rights movement for gays.

They were brave. They were defiant and they launched our civil rights movement, said Michael Williams, who heads Philadelphia's Minority Business Enterprise Council.

The rally, organized by Equality Forum, a gay civil rights group, included a tribute to 40 people for challenging social conventions or laws that discriminated against gays and lesbians.

Among those honored were Frank Kameny, 79, of Washington, D.C., who organized the 1965 rally, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, and Kevin Bourassa, 46, and Joe Varnell, 35, the Toronto couple who successfully challenged Canada's ban against same-sex marriage.

Also honored was retired Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, of Whidbey Island, Wash., a decorated Vietnam veteran who challenged the military's policy on gays in 1991.

I'm here for those who are (serving) or have served in the military in silence, said Cammermeyer, who arrived in her Army uniform.

The service at nearby Christ Church also included a sermon by the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, who talked about a loving God that accepts gays and lesbians.

We hear God's voice and it says you are my beloved, said Robinson, who was consecrated as bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese in 2003. We have tasted God's liberation and that toothpaste is not going to go back in the tube.

Outside the church, about 25 protesters, including members of the conservative Christian group Repent America, protested Sunday's daylong celebration of gay rights.

Jim Deferio, of Syracuse, N.Y., said he came to encourage gay rights supporters to turn away from homosexuality and toward God.

I didn't drive all this way to hate people, Deferio said.

Malcolm Lazin, executive director of Equality Forum, which is based in Philadelphia, had hoped to unveil a state-approved historical marker Sunday naming Independence Hall as the birthplace of gay rights, a designation disputed by some historians.

But the group's spokesman, Dan Wagner, said the marker, approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in March, won't be ready until June. It is to be placed near the site of the 1965 protest at Independence Hall.

Repent America's protest was in turn countered by members of the Metropolitan Community Church of Philadelphia, who described themselves as an inclusive Christian community, and who carried signs that included rainbows and religious messages.

You can be Christian and gay, said Al Flemming, 31, of Wilmington, Del. God doesn't hate anyone he created. We were all made by Him.