During a recent interview, Rudy Giuliani, known for being pro-queer, exposed his "Catholic faith based" understanding of homosexuals when he stated that "homosexuality, heterosexuality, as a way of somebody leading their life isn't sinful. It's the acts--it's the various acts that people perform that are sinful, not the orientation that they have."

In one brief statement, the New York Republican candidate for president has betrayed his support for the queer community.  By applying this "love the sinner, hate the sin" philosophy to queers Giuliani seems to be telling us that it's ok to be queer BUT keep your hands to yourself, do not enter into relationships and by all means remain sexless.

As applied to queers this philosophy is, at its core, homophobic and is ripe with discrimination; it is the fodder that fuels anti-queer attacks and reinforces discrimination against us today.

This "love the sinner, hate the sin" philosophy is also being used as a reason to remove openly queer Rev. Katrina D. Foster of the Fordham Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Bronx along with another 85 Evangelical Lutheran pastors across the nation.

Foster's homosexuality was never an issue until she revealed she was in a loving and monogamous relationship with her same-sex partner, having a baby, and forming a "family." While the majority of her parishioners embraced the "family," the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America sees Foster as having crossed the line; she is now living a sinful life -- not worth to serve God or "their church." 

The belief that homosexuality is a sin is rooted in the historical misinterpretation of a handful of biblical passages that allegedly condemn homosexuality. Misinterpretations that have shaped the theological dogma that led anti-queer Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to write in 1992 that "homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle."

But much more frightening than his position on omosexuality was his position on the AIDS epidemic. Huckabee wrote: "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague . .  . It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure, is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

Anti-queer-AIDS-phobic Huckabee represents the danger the queer community continues to face with the ever-growing number of anti-queer hate groups. Huckabee's anti-queer positions, while stated earlier in his political career, have now entered the national arena. From his current pulpit, Huckabee continues the "lie" that homosexuality is a sin against God; he is spreading hate and theological ignorance while providing empowerment to those who would do us harm.

Sadly, Huckabee fuels the debate for the ever growing numbers of anti-queer and Theofascists hate groups and gives them encouragement in their goals. While they believe that it is a queer mission to criminalize Christianity in America these Theofascists seek to outlaw queers and eliminate us.

As hate groups grow across the nation, we queers must continue our fight for civil rights; we must continue to press for laws that protect us from people like Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and the every growing number of hate groups.

We must make our queer voices heard so that what we have gained is never lost and what we continue to fight for is achieve.