The Human Rights Campaign’s President Joe Solmonese rightfully responded in defense and support of the LGBT community:
Dear President-elect Obama -
Let me get right to the point. Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. Our loss in California over the passage of Proposition 8 which stripped loving, committed same-sex couples of their given legal right to marry is the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years. And by inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table.
Rick Warren has not sat on the sidelines in the fight for basic equality and fairness. In fact, Rev. Warren spoke out vocally in support of Prop 8 in California saying, “there is no need to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population ... This is not a political issue -- it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about." Furthermore, he continues to misrepresent marriage equality as silencing his religious views. This was a lie during the battle over Proposition 8, and it's a lie today.
Rev. Warren cannot name a single theological issue that he and vehemently, anti-gay theologian James Dobson disagree on. Rev. Warren is not a moderate pastor who is trying to bring all sides together. Instead, Rev. Warren has often played the role of general in the cultural war waged against LGBT Americans, many of whom also share a strong tradition of religion and faith.
We have been moved by your calls to religious leaders to own up to the homophobia and racism that has stood in the way of combating HIV and AIDS in this country. And that you have publicly called on religious leaders to open their hearts to their LGBT family members, neighbors and friends.
But in this case, we feel a deep level of disrespect when one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination. Only when Rev. Warren and others support basic legislative protections for LGBT Americans can we believe their claim that they are not four-square against our rights and dignity. In that light, we urge you to reconsider this announcement.
Sincerely,
Joe Solmonese
President
Human Rights Campaign
Peter Daou wrote a post that showed what was being said on the discussion board of Barack Obama’s transition website Change.gov:
"I'm saddened to hear that Rick Warren will be involved in the official inauguration procedures. We've had eight years of policy made by the greedy, with injustice inflicted on the poor, ill and minorities and justified by right wing religious leaders who divide people into "us" and "them" to gain power and money. "Hope" to me means policy based on science and priorities on human rights and fairness. Warren opposed fair treatment for gays, and his views on abortion and stem cell research are scientifically absurd. We "reality based" Americans worked hard to elect President Obama because we can no longer afford this kind of divisive nonsense. Surely there is a religious leader available who is more in tune with reality and who doesn't use divisive positions that play one citizen off another to build big empires."
"Giving a voice to those who have different opinions IS important. However, Rick Warren is using his voice to take away the rights of others. I am a staunch supporter of women's rights, LGBT rights, and Mr. Obama, but this decision is making me wonder if those three aren't compatible. Is this a sign of things to come?"
"I am profoundly saddened and personally insulted, Mr. Obama, that you have chosen a representative of hate and devisiveness as a participant in your inauguration. The selection of Mr. Warren goes well beyond "reaching out to those who disagree". It represents an endorsement of bigotry, ignorance, and hatred."
"I am so disappointed in the choice of Rev. Warren. I cannot understand why the Obama team would try to justify this selection as an olive branch to conservatives and in the process alienate so many people who helped to put President-elect Obama in office. This is a sad day. This is a slap in the face to LGBT people and all of their supporters like me."
Those who connect Obama’s Inauguration with the history of civil rights will have a tough time dealing with the idea that Pastor Warren is allowed to participate in the Inauguration.
As Isobel White properly states, Obama “could have chosen any clergy member in the nation to deliver his invocation. So why one from the state where religion has so recently been a painful dividing line? One who spoke out so publicly in support of Prop 8, stating that "there is no need to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population ... This is not a political issue -- it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about"? One who continues to argue that marriage equality silences his religious views?”
