Recently, I've heard friends ask why Bellevue Baptist Church is allowed to serve as a polling location for elections. Bellevue and its minister, Steve Gaines, frequently inject themselves into political discourse, particularly when it comes to denying equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families. Gaines opposed employment non-discrimination ordinances in Shelby County and in Memphis. A few weeks ago, Gaines used his pulpit, church email and the church blog to tell his congregation who to vote for in Memphis City Council elections.
I've heard many LGBT people and their allies say that they cannot bring themselves onto the Bellevue Baptist Church campus because of the hostility they feel from the congregation.
What do you think?
Should the Shelby County Election Commission allow Bellevue Baptist Church to serve as a polling site for voting ?
Voice your opinion in our Grand Divisions poll on the right side of this blog.
- Jonathan Cole
As an atheist and a strong believer in the separation of church and state, I've always thought it was wrong that we allow churches to serve as polling locations. However, I don't expect it to change any time soon being that it's such a common occurrence (at least here in the south. I don't know whether it's the norm in other parts of the country).
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