Howard Bess, author of "Pastor, I am Gay" and former pastor of Church of the Covenant in Palmer, Alaska recalls that his book challenging Christians to re-examine their ideas about and prejudices against gays and lesbians was not well received in nearby Wasilla when it was published in 1995 -- the year before Sarah Palin was elected mayor.
Virtually every book store in Wasilla refused to sell it. Bess said he gave two copies to the Wasilla Library, but they quickly disappeared. So he donated more copies.
Sarah Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla with the support of her Assembly of God church, which was pushing for the removal of "Pastor, I am Gay" from local bookstores. On two occasions, Mayor Palin asked the Wasilla library director what she would do if told to remove certain books from the shelves. Three books were mentioned.
The library director, Mary Ellen Emmons, said the books were purchased according to the guidelines and would not be removed. Mayor Palin fired her soon after. A group of local residents protested the firing and Mary Ellen was reinstated, but she left Wasilla two years later and will not speak about the incident now.
In Dec. 1996, reporter Paul Stuart wrote an article about the censorship controversy in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
"Mary Ellen told me that Palin asked her directly to remove these books from the shelves," Stuart said. "She refused." Asked later if one of the books could have been "Pastor, I am Gay," Stuart said that it was.
"Knowing Sarah's religious connections and the people involved," said Howard Bess, "I would be surprised if my book was not one of those at issue."
Brian Ross of ABC News reported the full story:
The quote you have from the reporter is not in the article you are referencing. That's pretty unethical, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteWrong place for that link, sorry! That was a good background piece on how Pastor Bess got involved in LGBT issues. I've corrected it now - moved that link up to the first mention of Howard Bess, and linked the Stuart and Bess quotes to the article where I first read them. Thanks for pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you're going to accuse me of being unethical, you could at least include your name with your comment.
I'm well acquainted with Pastor Bess, and this piece is quite accurate. It's sad that in a world that has experienced Stalin and the Czars, Romania and Bosnia and the Ruthinian persecutions, a "first world" nation can still choose autocratic terrorists like Palin to such a "responsible" position as Mayor, let alone Governor. Do the schools systems in Alaska work at all? Is there no attention given to how to protect a democracy by learning the patterns in History? Ugh. What a mess Alaskans keep making for themselves.
ReplyDeleteBrianne