Brian Tamaki's 'spiritual father' in the United States has taken his television church on an 'Enough is Enough'-style hate march against gay marriage. Self-appointed Bishop Eddie Long is head of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, on whom Tamaki's multi-million dollar Destiny empire is based, led 15,000 of his followers on a march which began at the King Centre, where civil rights legend Dr Martin Luther King is buried. Along for the ride was King's daughter Bernice, an elder in Long's church. Both King and Long were in New Zealand recently for Destiny's "Taking the Nation" conference. Like Destiny, Long's church invokes the name of Dr King to support its cause. However, neither King's widow or the National Black Justice Coalition, America's only national gay black organisation, is supportive. The Coaltion issued a statement prior to the march that it was "a slap in the face to the legacy of Dr King". "Dr. King said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, but Bishop Long seems to think that injustice against gays and lesbians is perfectly fine," said NBJC Board president Keith Boykin, noting that one of King's closest advisers, Bayard Rustin, was an openly gay man.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 14th December 2004 - 12:00pm