LGBT Catholic Group: Marco Rubio's Antigay Appearance a "Profound Insult" to Orlando Victims

Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 8:30 a.m.
By Jerry Iannelli

Even for a shameless opportunist like Marco Rubio, agreeing to host an event by a virulently antigay conservative group in Orlando later this month went beyond the pale. After all, Rubio had used the massacre of gay patrons at Pulse nightclub as an excuse to get back into his Senate race. A litany of activist groups have lambasted him for the move.

But Rubio has doubled down in startlingly callous fashion. "The event I will be speaking at in Orlando is a gathering of local pastors and faith leaders," he told the Tampa Bay Times. "Leave it to the media and liberal activists to label a gathering of faith leaders as an anti-LGBT event. It is nothing of the sort. It is a celebration of faith."

Yesterday a group that knows a thing or two about "celebrations of faith" — the Boston-based DignityUSA, which advocates on behalf of LGBT Catholics nationwide — issued a statement declaring Rubio's excuses meaningless and harmful. The group then demanded he pull out of the event.

"She was like, 'Are you aware Rubio is speaking at this event?'" says DignityUSA president Marianne Duddy-Burke, who heard about the event when a distressed DignityUSA member called to tell her how hurt she was. "I was so disgusted and outraged. So many of those kids that died were Catholic, Latino, queer kids. You have to act on their behalf. They were Senator Rubio’s constituents."

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/lgbt-catholic-group-marco-rubios-antigay-appearance-a-profound-insult-to-orlando-victims-8674715