Immigrants real targets of Cobb housing ordinance

Re: “Housing ordinances bring ‘unintended consequences’” (news, March 7)

Thank you for bringing attention to the ill-concieved ordinance that was passed in Cobb County. It will impact the GLBT community as many nonrelated people do share households in Cobb County. However, Cobb County Chairman Sam Olens and Cobb County officials are not telling you the truth as to who was targeted by this ordinance. They were not targeting college students.

That was an excuse they came up with after we raised objections. Cobb County officials are on a witch hunt against Latino immigrants. Cobb County and Marietta Police are allegedly racial profiling against Latinos. The Cobb County Sheriff is acting like he rules the Wild West and actively violating due process rights of people he is seeking to deport.

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to pass the family ordinance that will impact the gay community. Cobb County is not a welcoming place. In fact, many Latino families are moving away because of these heavy handed tactics. Who will be next?

First they came for the immigrants... I do hope the gay community will chime in on these efforts because we may be next.

JERRY GONZALEZ
Atlanta

Editors’ note: Jerry Gonzalez is executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Saint Mark wants dialogue with church that owns The Abbey

Dear Neighbors,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We write this letter with hopes that we may mend the relationship between our congregations that has been damaged as well as become better neighbors to each other in the Midtown community.

Saint Mark UMC is proud of the fact that we welc ome all people to our church regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We grieve the actions taken by your congregation to revoke the use of your facility and cancel our annual dance at the last minute, causing many in our congregation to feel disrespected and hurt, simply because you find same gendered dancing unacceptable.

We at Saint Mark do not find the same offense you do in loving relationships between consenting adults whether they happen to be of the same gender or different genders, and in fact, we celebrate such relationships.

We also grieve the fact that you judged our relationships and families as inferior without knowing anything about us. We are concerned that perhaps inaccurate, pre-conceived notions about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people formed your decision to break your contract with us.

Our shared scriptural text says to us, “Welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed you.” (Romans 15:7) With this scripture in mind, we would like to invite you to attend services at our church and experience the welcoming, loving Christ as we have. Also, we would like to invite you to a time of fellowship, food, music, worship and dialogue with each other. We want you to know us as the loving, Christ-centered people we are, and we want to know you too.

Table fellowship is something Jesus shared many times with his disciples, and he called his disciples to do the same after he was gone. Let us break bread together, share our stories together, and learn to love one another in spite of our differences. Perhaps hearts may be softened and we can be better neighbors to each other. Our relationship as members together in the body of Christ and as neighbors in the Midtown community has been damaged, but our prayer is that you will join us in working to heal it.

In Christ, 

Rev. Jimmy Moor, Senior Pastor                                    Deana Hilton, Business Administrator
Rev. Phillip Thomason, Associate Minister                      Boyd Darsey, Staff Assistant                
Rev. Mandy Flemming, Associate Minister                     Christia Holloway, Asst. to Rev. Moor
Rev. Josh Noblitt, Deacon                                              Kathi Urban, Fine Arts Asst.                 
Jane Burke, Minister of Fine Arts                                   Amy Holloway, Fine Arts Asst. 
Rev. Jackie Jenkins, Children’s Minister                         Sherrie Graham, Chair, Admin. Council
Anjie Peek Woodworth, Youth Minister                          Mark Haley, Club M.A.R.K.                                John Richardson, Assoc. Dir. of Fine Arts/Organist       Cheryl Thompson, Club M.A.R.K.

Kern’s comments belong in witch hunts, not politics

Re: “Okla. lawmaker says gays bigger threat than terrorists” (news, March 14)

What about all the other countries that approve of the gay lifestyle? Canada is still around the last time I looked. We are not murderers —other people make us fight for what is our right and that makes us bad? Our country did that as well.

How sad that a seemingly educated woman could sound off like this. She should not only be banned from politics but from humanity. I would really like to know what societies we have lost due to homosexualtiy. She is a disgrace!

You’re bad and I’m good is what started the witch hunts in the Middle Ages.

I agree

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