Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 00:03:09 -0600 From: CENDO RICHARD Subject: GLAIL TO COACH McCARTNEY: DON"T BE HYPOCRITE, COWARD GAYS AND LESBIANS AGAINST IMMORAL LIFESTYLES PLEA TO BILL McCARTNEY: -- DON'T BE A HYPOCRITE AND COWARD -- STAND UP AGAINST BRUCE BENSON DENVER, Oct. 4, 1994 -- Gays and Lesbians Against Immoral Lifestyles sent a letter to Coach Bill McCartney yesterday. McCartney is head of football at the University of Colorado, head of the Promise Keepers Christian men's group, and is the best known supporter of Amendment 2 and Colorado For Family Values. GLAIL is awiting a reply. A copy of the letter follows: Gays and Lesbians Against Immoral Lifestyles (GLAIL) Box 7327 Boulder, CO 80304 October 3, 1994 VIA FACSIMILE Coach Bill McCartney Promise Keepers 303-421-2918 Dear Coach McCartney: Two years ago, you felt compelled to speak out on a political issue -- Amendment 2 -- because you felt that the Bible had something to say about homosexuality. To voice your support for Amendment 2, you went back to an obscure and almost-never-followed section of the Old Testament in order to pronounce that homosexuality is an "abomination." Although the same book, Leviticus, also outlaws the eating of shell fish and the touching of the skin of a pig (like footballs), you obviously felt that, if even only a single word in the Bible touches on a current political issue, it's your job as a righteous man to give voice to your Biblical perspective. Therefore, Coach McCartney, I want to make you aware that a grave political issue that is afoot right now here in our home state of Colorado, and the Bible is very clear on what we must do. You see, an admitted adulterer, divorcer and fornicator is seeking to become governor of our home state. This man already has the Republican nomination for governor, and he is spending millions of dollars to convince Coloradans that he is a worthy leader. While many good men keep their promises before God, even though they must struggle with economic hardships and troubled relations with their spouses, Bruce Benson was blessed with both great wealth and a good, loving, faithful wife. And how did Benson repay these blessings? According to the court documents of his divorce, he abruptly told his wife one day that he was going on the annual family vacation to Hawaii but that she was not invited. Instead, he would be taking his mistress along. It's truly distressing that a man and potential leader can behave in such a way. Have you ever heard of a sacred promise before God being broken in such a heartless, cruel manner? But it doesn't stop there. Benson went on to try to cheat his wife out of her fair share of the family property. And now, he is close to becoming governor of our state! What kind of message does this send to the men of Colorado and the nation? What kind of message does it send when such a man becomes governor? What kind of message does it send when you remain silent? As I said, the Bible is quite clear on what we must do. While you had to search back to an obscure part of the Old Testament to find something on homosexuals, you don't have to look far to find a much clearer, much less ambiguous and much more emphatic Biblical perspective on adulterers, divorcers and fornicators. While Jesus never said anything against gays, He was extremely clear on the sins of adultery, divorce and fornication. As Matthew 19 says: "Some Pharisees came and tested [Jesus] by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any and every ground? He asked in return, 'Have you never heard that the Creator made them from the beginning male and female?'; and he added, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be made one with his wife; the two shall become one flesh. It follows that they are no longer two individuals; they are one flesh. WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER, MAN MUST NOT SEPARATE.'" (emphasis, mine) Then Jesus said, "I tell you, if a man divorces his wife for any other cause other than unchastity and marries another, he commits adultery." Then Jesus equates adultery with murder, theft and giving false evidence by naming adultery as one of only four things one must absolutely avoid if one hopes to gain eternal life. (Matthew 19: 18-19). Indeed, as Jesus listed these sins, murder was first and adultery was second. Only after adultery came theft and false evidence. Surely we would all stand up and stop a murderer or bank robber from becoming governor. If we listen to Jesus, then, we must stop an adulterer from becoming governor as well. Isn't it interesting that only a few moments later, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you this: a rich man will find it hard to enter the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 19: 23-24) It's is almost is if He had Bruce Benson in mind! After all, in addition to dumping his wife in the most callous way imaginable and thereby breaking his sacred promise before God, what has Benson done with his great wealth? Has he given it to the poor, as Jesus said is the right thing to do? No. Instead, he has spent enormous amounts of his money in buying television air time so that he can televise slick advertisments discussing what a great man he is. That's right, saturation TV commercials about what a great man this wife-dumping Promise Breaker is! I wish I could tell you that this is the end of the sad story, but it's not. You see, Coach McCartney, despite Benson's immoral lifestyle, none of our religious leaders has spoken out against his wickedness or his attempt to become governor. His governorship, of course, would put the government stamp of approval on adultery and on wife abandonment of the most callous kind. And it would send a destructive message to men struggling to do the right thing. Like the media and the rest of the establishment, our religious leaders are scared of Benson's great power and wealth, as well being afraid of criticizing such popular and pervasive pastimes as adultery and divorce. But as the author and leader Bill Bennett recently said in a speech to the Christian Coalition, "If you look in terms of the damage to the children of America, you cannot compare what the homosexual movement, the gay rights movement, has done with what divorce has done to this society." Mr. Bennett is not afraid to stand up and speak the truth, even when it's unpopular, even when it offends super powerful multimillionaires such as Bruce Benson. Gays and lesbian Coloradans aren't afraid to stand up, either. That's why a group of concerned gay and lesbian Coloradans has formed GLAIL, Gays and Lesbians Against Immoral Lifestyles. Each day, scores of gay and lesbian Coloradans are joining GLAIL so that we can all stand up against the evils of divorce and adultery by opposing Bruce Benson's attempt to become Colorado's leader. How can such a man work against family breakdown and social decay when behavior such as his is the root of our social problems? Indeed, he can't, as demonstrated by his recent need to scapegoat welfare children for social breakdowns, rather than properly blaming irresponsible, sinful men such as himself. You have already stated that you feel it is important to you to be able to stand up on important moral issues, Coach McCartney. We are hoping and praying that you are not a hypocrite and a coward. We are therefore making two pleas: 1.) Do not be a total hypocrite by speaking out in support Amendment 2 on account of questionable "moral" issues but then ducking the much more serious, threatening, and unambiguous moral issues presented by Bruce Benson's lifestyle and gubernatorial candidacy. 2.) Have the courage to stand up and denounce the gubernatorial candidacy and lifestyle of Colorado's most powerful, wealthy and notorious adulterer, divorcer and Promise Breaker. Sincerely, Richard Cendo Colorado president Gays and Lesbians Against Immoral Lifestyles (GLAIL)