Dear Editor:
The announcement on Sunday that former United States President Jimmy Carter had passed away at age 100 was an expected but sad blow for peace and equality worldwide, the leader of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) said today.
“President Carter was the epitome of Christian love and charity,” said Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston, moderator of MCC churches worldwide. “Pundits and politicians can debate the successes and foibles of his presidency, but no one questions his sincere love for humankind, nor his devotion to the principles of Christ. As longtime advocates for LGBT equality, MCC also applauds President Carter’s bold stances on such issues.”
“Jimmy Carter was an amazing president and human being,” said Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson, the previous moderator of MCC. “He was the first President to welcome gay rights leaders into the White House, and I was honored to lead the first contingent of LGBT faith leaders to the White House in 1980. His leadership was the most progressive on our issues in history. He was a Bible teacher, a servant leader, a global peacemaker, someone of whom every American and citizen of the world can be proud. May his memory inspire us to live up to our ideals.”
Carter was the first presidential candidate to promise he would sign a Gay Rights Bill during his 1976 campaign – long before such things were palatable to many voters. In 1977, the first LGBT delegation visited the White House to discuss policy issues, and included Rev. Elder Troy Perry, who founded MCC in 1968. In 1978, Carter campaigned against the Briggs Initiative in California, which would have prohibited LGBT persons from teaching in public schools. And, in 1980, he endorsed a “gay rights” plank in the Democratic Party Platform.
As a state senator and later governor of Georgia (USA), Carter worked to repeal laws that disenfranchised Black voters, raised the number of African-American political appointees in his state from three to 53, and continued to expand minority participation in government when he became president. He worked hard to bridge economic disparities between racial demographics, and advanced causes of equality.
More well known are Carter’s work to broker peace between Israel and Egypt in 1978, his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, and his tireless volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity.
James Hartman
Metropolitan Churches