Jaweed Kaleem writes at the Huffington Post about the history of gay rights activism on the part of the faithful, noting that on New Year’s Day 1965, hundreds of gay San Franciscans gathered for a festive “Mardi Gras Ball” that was, in fact, a fundraiser for pro-gay clergy:
Today, although Americans for and against gay rights cite their religious beliefs, those who oppose same-sex marriage and other civil rights for LGBT individuals have been especially vocal in declaring that God is on their side. That’s not always been the expectation about the faithful. In the mid-1960s, LGBT activists often looked to men of the cloth as allies in their fight for justice and human rights, according to historians.
Just months before the ball, about two dozen Bay Area Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal and United Church of Christ clergy and gay activists had formed the Council on Religion and the Homosexual to promote the “need for a better understanding of human sexuality” and its “broad variations and manifestations.”
Read full story here.