Last night, Bishop Harry Jackson, the Maryland-based religious leader connected to the religious right who has come to the forefront in the fight against marriage equality in the District, went on the Bill O'Reilly show to complain about a Washington Blade article that revealed he had only registered to vote in the District in April, despite having long claimed to be a District resident. Jackson's claim of residency was also suspect because the address listed is a condominium near Logan Circle, and Jackson owns two other homes in Maryland, one of which appears to be his real residence. Also, the condo appears to be owned by another man who claims Jackson is his "roomate," which makes it an odd place to live with one's wife and family.
On O'Reilly's show, Jackson likened himself to black leaders during the civil rights movement who faced threats and sometimes the reality of violence:
You know, Bill, people are looking for privacy, and they say their rights need to be protected. And on the other side, unlike the civil rights movement…[which] operated with a Christian spirit, this minority is going to rise up and impose their will on the majority. And they don't care that I've got young adult daughters and a wife. They don't care what happens to my family. They just want it their way, and they'll intimidate you or me into submission if they can.
[...]
“Well, I am praying for them and forgiving them. Bill, this is very much a spiritual battle in my view, and I look at Martin Luther King Jr. as the ultimate model in terms of his public resistance to oppression, and I think that this is going to deepen our faith roots if you will.
Mike DeBonis at Loose Lips points out that:
LL will make but one comment. OK, two. (1) You're fitting your wife and young adult daughters in a one-bedroom condo? (2) Obtaining the address and date of registration for a District voter by no means requires any “hacking.” Any person is free to visit the offices of the Board of Elections and Ethics (441 4th St. NW, 2nd floor, south wing), walk into the waiting area, log in to a public computer terminal, and look up that information for any voter in town. In fact, call 202-727-2525, ask real nice, and they might even look it up for you. And land records? Those are public, too.
Here's the other thing. I was present at the DC Board of Elections and Ethics meeting, and Jackson made the same sorts of accusations--saying that gay activists were "endangering his family" by "leaking his address." Not only does it not appear to be his address--but there were several other leaders in the anti-marriage equality movement present, and they, like most of all the other witnesses, stated their addresses for the record.
-- A. Serwer
