Advocates of parental rights for gays and lesbians finished a 65-mile relay march Friday to protest what they said was Focus on the Family's manipulation of research data on the issue.More than 100 people walked about 4-mile sections of the route from Denver to the Focus headquarters in Colorado Springs, said Richard Lindsay, spokesman for the Virginia-based group called Soulforce.
Organizers of the march said they hoped to put a public face on the issue and open a dialogue with Focus about its portrayal of gay families.
Soulforce has accused Focus founder James Dobson of misusing research data to say gays and lesbians are not good parents - a charge the Christian group has denied.
To end its protest, Soulforce planned a concert and vigil Saturday night at Focus' headquarters. Focus on the Family also planned a news conference Saturday night to address the group's charges.
"This is not simply that we're gay and they're conservative Christians and we disagree with each other," Lindsay said. "They're making really inflammatory statements about the gay community."
Mike Haley, director of gender issues at Focus on the Family, said his group offered last year to hold a public dialogue with Soulforce, which they declined because they wanted a private meeting with Dobson.
"They want a monologue, they don't want a true dialogue," said Haley, who lived as a gay man for 12 years before he "walked away from homosexuality."
from Forbes
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