A gay rights group in Ocean Grove, New
Jersey plans to protest Kirk Cameron's upcoming appearance at a
Christian ministry program.
Cameron is scheduled to speak on
marriage on July 27 and 29, kicking off the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting
Association's annual camp meeting week. An appearance last year on
the same subject sold more than 2,400 tickets, the Asbury
Park Press reported.
During a March appearance on CNN's
Piers Morgan Tonight, Cameron said that being gay is
“unnatural” and “detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so
many of the foundations of civilization” and that he would not be
supportive if one of his six sons told him he was gay.
Cameron, who came to prominence playing
Mike Seaver on the 80's sitcom Growing Pains, described the
Hollywood
backlash that followed as “hate speech” and suggested that he
was being persecuted
for his Christian faith.
Harriet Bernstein, co-chairwoman of
Ocean Grove United, said Cameron's comments could incite others to
bully.
“The ability to make derogatory
comments towards gays and lesbians seems to go under the radar,”
she said. “People don't seem to take it seriously.”
In
a blog post announcing the protest, the group said it was
counterproductive to the fulfillment of its mission for the Camp
Meeting Association to endorse “prejudice and hostility toward
those of its neighbors who seek nothing more than to participate in
building families, communities, and our nation as a whole.”
(Related: Kirk
Cameron promoted as “champion of marriage” by gay marriage foe
NOM.)