I read about an interesting organization in the May 9th issue of The Advocate. Soulforce was created in the late 90s by Mel White and Gary Nixon to support "freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious & political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance."

Current actions that the organization has underway include:

• A seven week Equality Ride which is taking 33 young adults across the nation to confront college which ban the enrollment of LGBT students
• The 1000 Watt March, Vigil, and Concert in Colorado Springs in July to apply pressure on James Dobson's Focus on the Family, an organization which "depicts LGBT people as miserable, lonely, disordered, sick, and sinful" (I had to sit through a few days of Focus on the Family videos when I was in junior high or high school... a public school, I might add!)

Given the growing influence of fundamentalist and evangelical religious organizations in American government and the willingness of some national religious leaders to suggest that what they see as America's acceptance of gays and lesbians is somehow responsible for horrific events such as 9/11 and the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq, Soulforce's direct response to the use of religion to condemn gays and lesbians feels right on target to me.