Love Won Out and Love Welcomes All will face off June 21 in Portland, Ore.
Love Won Out is a touring political rally organized by Exodus and Focus on the Family. The audiences, numbering several hundred per event, are treated to tightly controlled lectures by political activists who view rigid gender roles, discrimination, and religious threats as valid methods to save gays from despair and damnation. The common theme: Only certain conservatives’ view of God is valid; the conservative god’s love is somewhat conditional upon political affiliation and sexual conformity. Focus on the Family charges substantial admission fees for LWO, and gives a small amount to Exodus.
Love Welcomes All is a Christian counter-movement, originally organized in part by ex-ex-gays and by Soulforce. LWA declares that the Christian God’s love is unconditional and apolitical; that an individual can optionally change or moderate one’s sexual behavior, but not one’s God-given love for others. Admission is free.