By Chad Groening and Jody Brown
April 11, 2001

(AgapePress) - Christian organizations are reacting to the appointment of Scott Evertz to lead the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. Evertz is the first open homosexual to be appointed to such a high post by a Republican President.

One of those groups expressing their dismay in President Bush's decision to appoint Evertz is Wisconsin Christians United. Pastor Ralph Ovadal, the group's director, says he has debated Evertz several times and has known him on an adversarial basis for about seven years. He believes Evertz will bring the "sodomite agenda" to Washington.

"Scott Evertz is an out-of-the-closet homosexual," Ovadal says. "From what I've seen of him, he's going to promote the mainstreaming, the acceptance of homosexual behavior. This is what he's done ever since I've known [him]. He wraps it in a so-called 'conservative' facade, but the bottom line is he himself has been involved in this sort of behavior, he is promoting this sort of behavior, and it really doesn't matter if it's an elephant or a donkey -- sodomy is still wrong."

Ovadal says putting a homosexual activist in charge of the White House AIDS office makes no sense.

"Putting him in charge of finding a cure to AIDS ... is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house," he says. "[Making Evertz overseer of] the government department dealing with AIDS is like putting a drug addict in the office of the drug czar. It doesn't make any sense."

In a statement released by his group, Ovadal accuses Bush and Evertz of being "soul mates" who both know how to get what they want. "They are both using the influence of their positions to desensitize a nation to a lawless behavior which God calls a filthy, grievous abomination," Ovadal says. "Simply put, George Bush asked the sodomites to scratch his back and now he is scratching theirs."

Reaction From Other Christian Groups
Dr. James Dobson, President of Focus on the Family, is sharply critical of the Evertz appointment. He says given the fact that AIDS is primarily caused by rampant homosexual behavior, the appointment sends the message that the AIDS problem can be resolved without addressing that behavior.

Echoing that sentiment was Family Research Council President Kenneth Connor. In a press release, Connor says that promoting an openly homosexual person to lead the office suggests the White House is not prepared to deal with the root cause of the behaviors causing the problem. "If personal responsibility is off the table," Connor says, "it is unlikely that the White House's approach to solving the AIDS crisis will be effective."

Rev. Lou Sheldon of Traditional Values Coalition says his organization will be closely monitoring Evertz' actions to ensure the post does not become "a bully pulpit for the advocacy of homosexuality."

Human Rights Campaign
Not surprisingly, the appointment is being praised by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's preeminent homosexual advocacy organization, saying it shows the Bush Administration is "fully committed to fighting HIV/AIDS on a national and global scale." A spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign says Evertz' selection signals the Administration's desire for "active leadership" in the battle against HIV and AIDS.

© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.

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