WASHINGTON (AP) — California Pastor Greg Laurie is opening Thursday's National Day of Prayer with a morning observance at the Pentagon, despite opposition from gay rights groups.
The Human Rights Campaign and Outserve-SLDN had urged the Pentagon to withdraw its invitation to Laurie — the honorary chairman of this year's National Day of Prayer — because he teaches that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
But an Army spokesman says the Pentagon Chaplain invites the event's chairman to speak every year, and is keeping with that tradition.
Laurie says, "I'm not trying to censor anybody else, and I don't think they should try to censor us."
Laurie says Christians who oppose gay marriage are sometimes accused of bigotry, but he's found that people who "talk about tolerance the most" are often the most intolerant of opposing views.
