AZ: HOMOSEXUALS HIJACK SUNS’ “CHURCH NIGHT”!

Statement of Len Munsil, President, on behalf of the Board of Directors of The Center for Arizona Policy

The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) was featured in the lead story of two biased Channel 5 reports last week regarding a controversy created by gay activists. (More on the Channel 5 reports tomorrow.) Because we were working behind the scenes to avoid conflict, I have been unable to write about it until now.

The Phoenix Suns approached us last year and asked us to sponsor their annual Church Night in March. On December 4 we agreed to do so. A few weeks back the Suns mailed information about Church Night to more than 2,000 churches in the Phoenix area. The mailing included information from CAP and identified us as the sponsor. In response to threats and name-calling from a handful of gay activists, Suns President Rick Welts chose to break our contract. At the time Welts made the decision to disassociate from CAP, the Suns had received somewhere between four and six complaints. The Suns received more complaints and threats as anti-family forces spread the word last week. Still, only a tiny percentage of the 2,000 churches contacted the Suns to complain about a pro-family group sponsoring the event.

Since the Suns informed us of their desire to break the agreement, we have been working quietly behind the scenes to urge them to reconsider. Unlike our opponents, we did not say anything publicly, or urge our thousands of supporters to flood the Suns with calls and e-mails. We maintained our silence out of respect for the pro-life leadership and Christian testimony of Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, along with many other Christians who work with the Suns.

On Thursday, our final effort to overturn Welts’ decision through a meeting with Mr. Colangelo failed. On Friday the Suns announced they were dropping us as a sponsor. While the Suns were polite and apologetic, we are deeply disappointed by their choice to cave in to the demands of gay protesters.

This is not a small matter, but is symbolic of where we are headed as a culture. The intolerance of homosexuals for people who believe in the Bible is clear.

We told the Suns we were willing to issue a joint statement saying we did not consider our business arrangement to be an endorsement by the Suns of our mission. The Suns are a basketball team, not a political entity, and we know they don’t necessarily share our mission – for example, we oppose casino gambling while they advertise it. For us this was a business relationship designed to raise our visibility in churches.

The Suns through their WNBA Phoenix Mercury actively market to the gay and lesbian community (“… the Phoenix Mercury proudly acknowledged its marketing efforts to the lesbian community.” Sears & Osten, “The Homosexual Agenda,” Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2003, p. 162.) They sell ads to casinos and the state Lottery. We have never gone in and demanded they stop conducting business with those groups. Maybe we should.

By caving in to gay pressure groups, the Suns like many businesses have chosen sides in the culture war, and given a victory to the homosexual forces of intolerance and censorship. Rather than doing business with both sides without endorsing either, the Suns will market to gays and gamblers, but fear associating with a pro-family group.

The goal of homosexual activists is to make the biblical view of homosexuality illegitimate in civil society. Thousands of years of moral teaching, accepted by all cultures as true until late in the 20th century, is not only being cast aside but is being censored as unfit for discussion. And that is why we must take a public stand. Indeed, if we did not stand up on this issue – despite our respect for Mr. Colangelo – our very reason for existence would be called into question, and we would have failed in our mission to be “Your Voice for Arizona Families.”

Our board has met and considered many options, including silence. But after much prayer, we determined we have an obligation to make you aware of what happened.

We do so not because we feel insulted or desire some sort of revenge. This is really not about The Center for Arizona Policy, or even about the Suns. It is about whether homosexual groups will succeed in declaring the biblical view of their conduct to be unfit for public consumption, and unfit for even associating with businesses. The goal of homosexual activists is to turn those who believe their behavior is sinful into the moral equivalent of members of the Ku Klux Klan.

We are specifically NOT calling for any boycott of the Suns or of Church Night. As far as we know, Church Night will go forward without us, although it will now be overshadowed. On the same day the Suns disassociated CAP from their March 19 Church Night, they made certain this controversy would not hurt ticket sales by making March 19 part of the Charles Barkley ceremony and giving away 10,000 Barkley bobble-heads, thus guaranteeing a sell-out.

Nevertheless, the pro-family community needs to politely let the Suns know it was wrong to break an agreement with a pro-family group because of threats and pressure from gay activists. In their statement, the Suns claim they market to the “entire community.” We did not object to that community including gays and lesbians. However, homosexual activists object to that community including pro-family people of faith. And they will not stop there.

What is to stop the gay community next year from challenging the very existence of “Church Night?” What is to prevent them from saying to the Suns, “How can you market to a group of people (Christians) who believe the same way about us as The Center for Arizona Policy?” And what could the Suns say?

Last year we urged you to send e-mails of support to Jerry Colangelo when he stood up for the sanctity of life. Now we are asking you to prayerfully consider letting him know how you feel about this decision, and to send a message that those who believe in marriage and family are a significant part of the “entire community” the Suns claim they are trying to reach. We would especially ask those churches who support the mission of Focus on the Family and The Center for Arizona Policy to politely let the Suns know of their disappointment with this decision.

Please feel free to pass this “Family Facts” update to interested friends and family. If you would like to join the more than 6,000 citizens who receive these updates, please contact us at 480-922-3101 or info@azpolicy.org. To unsubscribe to these updates, please reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to support our efforts, please call us or go to our web site at www.azpolicy.org .

The Center for Arizona Policy l 11000 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 120 l Scottsdale AZ 85254

Len Munsil also came out in favor of Sheriff Arpaio's crackdown on the hookers of Van Buren Street (Downtown Phoenix) Ooooh, I feel so much safer now! Our tax dollars at work...

'What is to prevent them from saying to the Suns, “How can you market to a group of people (Christians) who believe the same way about us as The Center for Arizona Policy?” And what could the Suns say?'

Simple. It's marketing, baby. Capitulate to a handful of fags throwing a temper tantrum, and lose an even bigger share of supporters that have families.

that 2nd hand quote is pretty useles..

then again why wouldn't a female NBA team cater to lezbos, I'd say 80% of the players are lezbos on some teams.

Actually they need to address other things... taking add from beer companies, and selling super nachos, XL sodas, etc. Isn't gluttony a sin?

4 posted on 01/12/2004 4:22:20 PM PST by KneelBeforeZod (If God hadn't meant for them to be sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep.)

Len Munsil is so uptight he showers with his clothes on...

He used to be the editor at the State Press, and he was an insufferable prig back then. I believe wanted the state to pass a law that folks getting married had to get religious counseling before hand.

5 posted on 01/12/2004 4:25:31 PM PST by Central Scrutiniser (The actress playing Anne Frank was so bad, a heckler yelled "She's in Attic!" to the guards!)

The goal of homosexual activists is to make the biblical view of homosexuality illegitimate in civil society.

How can this be?

Homosexual activists are always talking (screeching, actually) about how they champion tolerance. Does this mean some tolerances are more equal than others?

6 posted on 01/12/2004 4:28:14 PM PST by Gritty ("A villain plots evil with deceit in his heart; disaster will overtake him in an instant"-Proverbs 6)

Perhaps they should have called it "Church / Synagogue / Mosque Night." The gay-agenda agitators would have viewed that as much more "inclusive." It's not that they hate religion in general, but Christianity in particular.

Perhaps they should have called it "Church / Synagogue / Mosque Night."

What about "Infidel Night"?

9 posted on 01/12/2004 5:57:10 PM PST by Paleo Conservative (Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)

I'm really surprised, Jerry Colangelo is a pretty open christian and is involved with some athletes pro life group, and contributes to pro-family groups. Why he backed down here, I don't know.

I remember when that athletic group was formed, he made a speech and condemned abortion, and the idiots at the DUmpster threw a fit calling for boycotts.

Thats because its well known that Rick Welts is gay..and had an asian male lover..

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