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Texas Mayor Should Resign for Gay Activism, Megachurch Pastor Repeats From Pulpit

The pastor of a Texas megachurch who had written to Houston's openly gay Mayor Annise Parker last week asking her to resign for promoting same-sex marriage, reiterated his demand from the pulpit during the Sunday worship.

Steve Riggle, the founding and senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Houston, preached on marriage and read his letter to Parker during his sermon to the 3,000 members at the 10 a.m. worship service, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Riggle read 25 Bible versions of the Genesis account of marriage as a man "leaving his father and mother and being joined to his wife." The pastor then read the letter in the next 50 minutes.

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Parker, a Democrat, recently joined a coalition called Freedom to Marry, which comprises about 90 mayors. "Okay, I'm an out lesbian. They know that. I'm in a long-term relationship," she told Huffington Post last month. "And yes, I want the ability to marry my spouse. And here I am, one of 90 mayors from around the country, and somehow it provoked this wave of hate mail."

Riggle, who stresses that the state's constitution says marriage is only between a man and a woman, also took exception to an official memo that titled Parker's partner as the "First Lady of Houston" a few months ago. Reading from his letter, he said, "While you are certainly entitled to your personal views and lifestyle that does not embrace traditional marriage – even if I happen to disagree with those views, and I do – it is very disturbing to me when you've made statements as an elected official that are contrary to what the people have decided should be the foundational values and definitions that define our culture."

The pastor added, "Respectfully, if you cannot uphold the Texas Constitution, then you should do the honorable thing and step down."

Parker had a prepared statement on Sunday. "Houston is a city supportive of equal rights and tolerant of opposing opinions – a city where individuals may disagree with one another without being personal," she stated. "I am standing with 160 mayors, including other Texas mayors, who have taken the same public position. My focus remains on creating jobs and building a safer city."

Parker also denied the assertion that she was dishonoring the state's constitution. "I do my duty to uphold the state Constitution and the U.S. Constitution," she was quoted as saying. "I swore an oath to that. I take that oath very seriously, but I have my First Amendment rights to free speech. We all have that right and I'm sorry that they don't understand the Constitution."

After receiving Riggle's letter last week, Parker reacted by saying the pastor was acting out of personal animus. Riggle read from the response he had written to her accusation Sunday. "I made it clear that I did not write to you because you are gay," he said. "I wrote to you because as the mayor you have chosen to advocate for what the citizens of Houston and the citizens of Texas have overwhelmingly spoken against."

The pastor added that he was not a "gay-hater," saying he had prayed with gay people dying of AIDS. "Just because I disagree with the lifestyle choices that people make does not mean that I hate the people who make those choices." He also responded to Parker's claim that she had received hate mails. "Just so you are aware, this week I have been called an idiot, stupid, a dirt bag ...," he said. "That is all from just one group that claims to represent your community."

Mayor Parker, who was president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus in 1986, is in office since January 2010. She has been together with her partner, Kathy Hubbard, since 1990 and they have two adopted daughters and one foster son.

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