B.C. pastors launch campaign against SOGI 1 2 3
Posted September 27, 2018 6:42 am.
Last Updated September 28, 2018 7:34 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
METRO VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A group of B.C. pastors have launched a campaign against SOGI 1 2 3.
Nearly 200 pastors have signed a statement of faith, denouncing homosexuality and having a transgender identity. They call it the West Coast Christian Accord, saying having one of those identities and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculum is against God’s will.
“For far too long, many of us in the Evangelical Churches throughout Canada have been dismissed, intimidated, bullied, and even threatened because of our biblical world view regarding human sexuality — a world view that is not only based on the time-honoured truths of the Bible, but a view that is protected by Canadian law,” said Giulio Gabeli, president of the Association of Christian Ministries Vancouver.
“Our hope would be to come back to the table and work at a curriculum that would protect the rights of those who have differing views,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, one of the pastors who signed the statement of faith.
But Vancouver school board candidate Morgane Oger, who is a transgender woman, says SOGI protects LGBTQ children from discrimination. “It is a responsibility of every single teacher in British Columbia to protect every child against anybody who would try to teach in school that trans kids don’t exist or that being transgender is somehow wrong.”
“Asking to take away SOGI protection is the same as asking to take away protection against discrimination on the basis of race or of faith. That’s abhorrent,” she added.
Oger points out discrimination is illegal.
“It’s against the law in British Columbia to discriminate against LGBT students by making them be invisible or by teaching people that we are abominations or that we are hated by God.”
The pastors have also sent a letter to the minister of education, asking for SOGI to stop being taught in schools.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include quotes from pastors involved in the campaign.