Baptists Vow to Back Anti-Gay Initiative

SACRAMENTO —  California Southern Baptists are pledging to support an initiative on the March ballot that would ban gay marriages, saying it affirms the sanctity of wedlock.

The motion to support Proposition 22, known as the Knight initiative after its main sponsor, state Sen. Pete Knight (R-Palmdale), received unanimous support at the California Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday.

The move comes a day after the Georgia Southern Baptist Convention ousted two churches for allowing homosexuals to be church leaders and for allowing a gay marriage to be performed at one of the churches.

The action by the Georgia convention marked the first time in its 177-year history that Georgia Baptists have expelled congregations.

“We read the Bible and we come down on different sides of this issue,” said Gerald Harris, outgoing president of the convention. “I don’t know that the convention can compromise its position on this issue.”