Petitioners to seeh gey-righfs lana reuersal
By Gary E. Swan
Staff writer

Fundamentalist Christians

passed the ordinance that bans discrimi-

will

be

pass laws that are against God's will-",
nation based on sexual orientation in said the Rev. Marvin
housing, employment, business, real es- the Los Gatos.ChristianRickard, pastor of
Church.
tate transaetions and. access to govern_ "There is no question we are on the
ment services.
Lord's side," said the Rev. Harvev Tim_
A similar ordinance has been voted. berlake, a Sacramento
lobbyist toictrris_
but not yet given final approval,
bv the tian causes.
-:

knocking on doors throughout the county
Saturday trying to collect more than 50,000 signatures that woqld start the
process of overturning the count5r's new
San Jose City Council.
"gay rights" ordinance.
.Ministers and other leaders of the opAbout two thousand members of at
least 20 Christian churches convened'at position mixed pulpit preaching and polithe Los Gatos Christian Church Thursday tics Thursday iright tb begin i poputist
drive to turn back the oidinanc6 ana
night to sing, pray and plan their effort -then
remove from public office those
to force a voter referendum
.who enacted it.
Santa Clara County supervisors Aug. 6
"We can't let those who represent us

_^Th" churches plan to put more than 2,_
500 precinct workers on the street Sai_
urday to gather signatures to put the ref_

erendum on the ballot. At l6ast BZ.b00
3re- n_e_eded, but referendum organizer
Rick 4arrington said a goal of 5O',OOO io
100,000 has been set.
Continued on Page 68

Srrlqc r/z/r?
Churches battle gay-rights law
frorn Page 78
Haningto! said that if the

Continued,

necessar5r signa.
tures are eollected, tie ordinanc.e would be-sus_
pended and sent back to the board ot supeivi-

sors.

If the bo_qd reconfirms its support, tbe ordi_
nanoe wo-ul{ go oq the Novembei.-UaUot" provid_
ed enough signaturbs are collected UV Sebi. S.

joining Almaden district, said, .,I'm eonvinced
that government is not.hearing'us. nut tney *iff
alter Saturday.
"Onoe we overturn the ordinance at the county level, lhen we'll tr;fn arognd and rf my coll*gu""_ don't list€n . . . we'll do the same ihing

in San Jose.'f
He received the largest of severat rousing
San
pegram
Jose
ovations
Councilman
from the erowd that filled the l,g00l
_
Larry
who
.has been. ttre only couneil
opionen-t of the San seat church beygtd capacity and had parking
Jose ordlnanc-e
up down Blossom Hill-Road.
- received a standinq ovation backed
when be was introduc€d.
Ilarrington,
hqs led ligbts againpt prbtic
Pegrarn, who rill run for re-election in an ad_ reoggnition of-w!o
homosexuals and lomos'exual
$gbt" for the.last two yearsi, was intioduced as
-"ig-st
an ordinary man-but 6ne who feels he is
called by God in this matter.,'
Several.speakers gpohe of the dangers they
see in the homosexual inovement.
"To allow militant gay rlghts to go unanswer€d," said the Rev. I.Iarry-TFinnini of San
-rioting."
Fego,- "would invite morr oi tlte gay
He referred to that which occurredin'San Frin_
cisco after the Dan White trial.
Others eontended the ordinance as ambiguolrs,
unenforeeable and contrary to the rmral ofrer. '

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