Grand Lodge of Georgia Bans Gay Men
By Wor. Bro. Frederic L. Milliken
Here we go again in Georgia. Remember Victor Marshall who the Grand Lodge of Georgia tried to expel for being a Non-White? If not refresh your memory with the Freemason Information article My Brother’s Keeper – Open Racism In Georgia Freemasonry.
Now it’s open war on homosexuals. Where will it all end? Do you think that Georgia can mimic Florida and ban all Pagan religions also?
Chris Hodapp on his Masonic Blog Freemasons For Dummies reports:
Last week in Georgia, the Grand Master, Douglas McDonald, issued an edict with the endeavor to change their adultery provision to additionally read, “Homosexual activity with anyone subjects the offender to discipline.”
I’m afraid there will be more of this. Brethren should consider that they have all probably been sitting in lodge with homosexuals since the day they became an EA. I strongly encourage Masons to check their state’s code and take steps to remove these provisions. I’m no gay activist, but we live in different times now, and the Supreme Court has spoken on the subject. Like it or not, such rules may subject us to lawsuits, and I humbly beseech Grand Masters not to act rashly because homosexuality conflicts with their own personal views of morality. We have had thousands of gay members since our beginnings, almost entirely without incident or without bringing disgrace upon the Craft. What someone does in the privacy of their own bedrooms is none of our business, as long as they don’t bring their politics into the lodge room.
Hodapp also reports on the Grand Lodge of Tennessee attempting to expel a Gay member.
Author Brother Michael Karpovage has this to say:
What an utterly embarrassing day it is for Freemasonry in the state of Georgia. An angry day. We are a non-religious educational institution based on Brotherly Love for our fellow man. Tolerance is a key tenet of the organization. A man’s character is all that matters. Not his race, his personal religion, his wealth or social status. And certainly NOT his sexuality.
Yet, our deeply religious Grand Master just shoved down our throats (pun intended) an edict that bans a homosexual from becoming a Mason on the basis that it’s moral sin under God. His version of God. There was no debate, no unanimous decision. There wasn’t a statewide call for this action by the brethren. It was issued like an executive order in the very last month of his term. He opened Pandora’s Box and I certainly gave him an earful of which I’ll probably be reprimanded for or worse. But I will not sit idly by without raising my voice.
This is what scares me about these Ralph Reed-type religious far-right wingers in our country. I believe in separation of church and state. I joined this institution specifically because religion and politics (two of the most divisive subjects of mankind) are strictly prohibited from being discussed within a lodge. And with one man’s actions, now all GA Masons will be painted as backward ass bigots.
Brotherly Love. Oh, the irony.
