Queer Town: The Faithful Fast, Valley Business Opposes

Churches across California are pulling out the stops, according to a recent Associated Press report, by praying and fasting for the next 40 days for the passage of Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage ballot measure. The faithful are reportedly planning to subsist on soup and juice, and then gather in San Diego for a tent revival of sorts three days before Election Day in November.

“This is not political to us," Jim Garlow, the pastor of the evangelical Skyline Church in San Diego County, told the AP. "We see it as very spiritual.”

In the San Fernando Valley, meanwhile, the board of directors of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) voted on Thursday afternoon to oppose Proposition 8. VICA is one of the major business groups in Los Angeles.

"The business community understands Proposition 8 is not just bad social policy, but it's also bad for business," said Scott Olin Schmidt, a gay Republican and campaign manager of Republicans Against 8. "VICA took a leadership role eight years ago when they supported the creation of a domestic partnership registry and today marks another historic decision to stand up for businesses, their employees and their customers whose fundamental freedoms are threatened by Proposition 8."

The VICA vote is no small thing. Opponents of Prop. 8 have been trying to gain support outside of traditional gay enclaves by reaching out to suburban voters. VICA, in appearance at the very least, delivers one piece of that larger puzzle.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.