Free Republic

With the Capitol dome as a backdrop, Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., and a large group of pastors in town for a national conference, joined House Republicans for a press conference Thursday to announce legislation in opposition to the recent decision by the D.C. City Council to recognize same-sex marriages from states where the practice is legal. The D.C. Defense of Marriage Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.), states “that in the District of Columbia, for all legal purposes, ‘marriage’ means the union of one man and one woman.” “The...

(Washington, DC) -- DC Council member Marion Barry was among those who spoke at a rally Tuesday at Freedom Plaza in protest of proposed legislation that would recognize out-of-state same sex marriages in the District. The demonstration was organized by the High Impact Leadership Coalition, a loosely-based group made up of Christians and clergy members. Barry told a group of dozens of protesters that he is against gay marriage. The Council is due to take up the legislation May 5th. If approved, it would have to go before Congress for its approval. For that reason, some feel the DC issue...

What’s at risk is the ability to preach the Gospel.’ So said Bishop Harry Jackson, standing with other black religious leaders and Republican congressmen at a press conference yesterday.   Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) led a group of members of Congress and Christian leaders yesterday in denouncing HR 1913, the federal hate crimes legislation that was passed on a straight party line vote out of the House Judiciary Committee late last week.   Jackson, a well-known leader in the black community as Sr. Pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., and chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, cautioned...

Members of the U.S. House today approved a plan to create a federal "hate crimes" plan that will provide special protections to homosexuals and others with alternative sexual choices, but leave Christian ministers and pastors open to prosecution should their teachings be linked to any subsequent offense, by anyone, against a "gay." The vote was 249-175, and came despite intense Republican opposition to the creation of the privileged class. Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. of the High Impact Leadership Coalition also condemned the action, offering a warning about the future of the United States.

Jeremiah Wright’s fiery message from December has been played on all the major networks during the last few days. Many have called the sermon racist. Others have said that it violated 501(c)3 codes for political involvement. Presidential frontrunner, Barack Obama, has already distanced himself from the sermon - using the analogy of an embarrassing relative. As an African American minister who has spent over 25 years attempting to promote racial unity, I am disappointed with Pastor Wright’s presentation of the gospel. His message unhealthily taps into the deep sense of rejection and victimization that many blacks have experienced over the...

Newt Gingrich is back and he's black," according to African-American pastors cited in a recent Los Angeles Times editorial. The so-called "black Newt Gingrich" is Harry R. Jackson, a Maryland minister who is pushing to gain one million signatures on a conservative "Black Contract With America on Moral Values." On May 19 he stood next to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in a Washington press conference to demand an up-or-down vote on judicial nominees. Critics charge Mr. Jackson with forsaking "traditional black church leadership," but the Harvard graduate and former Fortune 500 executive told WORLD that he doesn't pay much...