Two "hot" groups on the same Night

There are two Forums on Tuesday night—The Christian Coalition and the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.).

It is unfortunate that N.O.W. scheduled its forum on the same night knowing that the Christian Coalition had already scheduled on that date. Many candidates had already committed to the Christian Coalition and it put candidates in an awkward spot. Are you against religion? Are you against women? Are you against Lesbians? You have committed to one…is it now ethical to cancel one to attend the other that might be more in line with your own views? Is it political suicide in this heavily populated city of gays to believe in traditional religion and its views on marriage? Are you forced to be more "liberal" than you really are or less religious? The First Amendment rights of these candidates will be challenged and the answers will be under heavy scrutiny.

N.O.W. believes in equal rights for all women no matter their sexual preference, their right to marry each other as well as the right to an abortion. If you don't go along with this agenda, this forum will be awkward for you. The Gay and Lesbian population here is prominent and growing and they take a pro-active approach to spreading their word and helping those who have special needs. Their event will be held at the COMPASS building in Lake Worth at 2nd Ave North and Dixie Hwy starting at 6pm. (This is a correction)

The Christian Coalition believes that marriage is between a man and a woman and it defends the rights of the unborn. Will you be allowed to have any other opinion? Will they be waiting to hear the far right rhetoric? Christians far out weigh any other religious group here and in the country (76.5% in the country) and faith based groups raise billions of dollars for charity and the poor. This event will be tomorrow night at the Lantana Library at 4020 Lantana Rd at 6:30.

Personally I think both these groups should not be involved in any way in our local elections or interviewing our candidates in a public forum. Our local problems have nothing to do with someone’s right to chose or whether they agree or disagree in lesbians marrying. Neither one of these things will change our city or make any one person more qualified than another to lead. In the City of Lake Worth, it is obvious which side of this hot potato you had better be on. This is about as bad as the Ms. California contest. You are asked your opinion. You give it. And then you are condemned and ruined for it. These are two very controversial groups each with some very good platforms but they both have advocacies that are considered too HOT.

Those attending N.O.W.

Rene Varela for Mayor

Laurence McNamara for Mayor

Jo-Ann Golden for Commissioner District 3

Wes Blackman for Commissioner District 3

Those attending Christian Coalition

William Coakley for Mayor

John Jordan for Mayor

Scott Maxwell for Commissioner District 1

Ron Exline for Commissioner District 1 (says he was already committed to Christian Coalition but will try to attend both)

Not all candidates were contacted or they did not return my calls in time for this article.