The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

When NOM was caught trying to create a wedge between the LGBT community and the black community, I thought no one would dare join them in their bigoted efforts. Well, I was wrong; several pastors have not only joined NOM, but other hate groups as well. The two of the most noticeable pastors are Bishop Harry Jackson and Rev. William Owens.

Bishop Harry Jackson has been an anti-gay crusader for years; but recently, Mother Jones revealed that NOM has been paying him to lead the black vs gay agenda.

Jackson is exactly the kind of African American spokesperson the NOM memo envisions. "There's been a hijacking of the civil rights movement by the radical gay movement," he said on CNN after backing California's Proposition 8 in 2008. "You can't equate your sin with my skin."

He has received $20,000 from NOM's education fund and has rallied support for same-sex marriage bans in Florida and Washington, DC, where he joined Councilmember Marion Barry to oppose a marriage equality bill in 2009.

As the head of the political action committee Stand4MarriageDC, Jackson was meant to be the voice of local opposition (he had a condo in the city). NOM's fingerprints, however, were obvious: The two groups shared an address; NOM gave Stand4MarriageDC direct financial support; and Brian Brown, NOM's executive director, was its treasurer. The measure passed, and NOM then spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to unseat councilmembers who supported the bill, without success.

Then there's Rev. William Owens.

He and his group, the Coalition of African-American Pastors, has been trying to punish President Obama for his support of gay marriage. While they claim to be a grassroots, Democratic group the Washington Post exposed who's really behind their foolishness:

• Owens was appointed this year as the African-American liaison for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a Washington-based group opposed to same-sex marriage that has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
• Frank Cannon, head of the American Principles Project, a group opposed to same-sex marriage, confirms his group's political action fund is paying public relations firm Shirley & Banister to assist CAAP's communications strategy.
• CAAP received loans totaling $26,000 in 2004 from the conservative Family Research Council, American Family Association and Mississippi Tea Party activist Ed Holliday, according to its IRS filings.

It's been very interesting to watch these so-called godly men interact with these type of organizations. It's also interesting to see how easily they can be bought and sold into a hate-filled game. What these pastors have done should be noted as a betrayal of their faith and a slap in the face to our community.

(Black pastor image via Bigstock)