We at this site take a great deal of pride in not judging one’s faith. Anything that helps a person cope day to day and be a better person, seems like a good thing to us. But when that religion becomes an excuse to hate others, such as our LGBTQ community, or outright racism, we obviously draw a line.
We also draw a line when one brings his or her faith into their job, especially when their job happens to be paid by public taxes. We have the ultimate example today in the new Tallahassee Police Lawrence Revell, who doesn’t just mix his religion with his job, he believes his public job is to spread his religious faith.
From Our Tallahassee:
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell this week spoke at an all-expenses-paid three-day retreat at one of America’s most notorious homophobic institutions: the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA). BGEA hosted the three-day long Chief Law Enforcement Officer Appreciation Event retreat from September 28-30th at the opulent Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Tallahassee Police Department Chief not only attended the event, but even spoke at it as well.
“While I wasn’t the City’s first choice, I was God’s first choice,” Revell says in the recording, discussing his highly controversial appointment as Tallahassee’s Police Chief. Revell discusses how it should be the “number one priority” for police chiefs to spread Christianity in the ranks of their police departments. “What is your agenda to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to your officers?”
Wrong, the number one priority for police chiefs should be running a disciplined department that protects and serves, especially protecting innocent black men from harassment or much worse, the same for our trans community, and others who are often marginalized and the victims of violence.
Additionally, we expect the police to not judge anyone else’s faith, including the decision to not have any faith at all.
The city of Tallahassee needs to reevaluate whether God’s first choice should be moved somewhere else.
Following our reporting last week that @CityofTLH [1] Police Chief Lawrence Revell spoke at the homophobic Billy Graham's Evangelistic Association Law Enforcement Appreciation Retreat, we have obtained a 49-minute long recording of Revell's speech. https://t.co/YM8hTJtkJl [2]
— Our Tallahassee (@OurTallahassee) October 7, 2021 [3]
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