Anderson J D
School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1071, USA.
J Homosex. 1997;34(2):37-65. doi: 10.1300/j082v34n02_02.
Since its founding in 1974, Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns (PLGC) has led the movement toward full participation and membership for lesbian and gay people in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is a story of that movement, told by a participant. It traces the development of current antigay policies in the church in 1976-78 in response to the first openly gay candidate for the ministry, PLGC's efforts to overturn these policies at annual General Assemblies, the growth of the pro-gay More Light Churches movement among Presbyterian congregations, the increasing number of antigay ecclesiastical court cases, study and dialogue on lesbian and gay issues across the denomination, and controversies over same-gender marriage, all culminating in the 1996 General Assembly, which endorsed civil rights for lesbian and gay couples, but also voted to send the controversial issue of lesbian and gay ordination to the 171 regional presbyteries of the church for an up or down vote. The battle for lesbian and gay equity in the church may well continue decades longer. Equity for gays and lesbians in society will not be fully won until the religious establishment learns how to apply its most basic principles of love, nurture, inclusive welcome, and support to lesbian and gay people.
自1974年成立以来，长老会同性恋权益关注组织（PLGC）引领了一场运动，推动女同性恋者和男同性恋者在长老会（美国）中充分参与并成为其成员。这是一名参与者讲述的该运动的故事。它追溯了1976 - 1978年教会针对首位公开的同性恋神职候选人制定当前反同性恋政策的过程、PLGC在年度大会上推翻这些政策的努力、长老会众教会中支持同性恋的“更多光明教会”运动的发展、反同性恋教会法庭案件数量的增加、全教派关于女同性恋和男同性恋问题的研究与对话，以及围绕同性婚姻的争议，所有这些都在1996年大会达到高潮，该大会认可了女同性恋和男同性恋伴侣的民权，但也投票决定将有争议的女同性恋和男同性恋神职授任问题提交给教会的171个地区长老会进行赞成或反对的投票。教会中争取女同性恋和男同性恋平等的斗争很可能还会持续数十年。在宗教机构学会如何将其最基本的爱、培育、包容接纳和支持原则应用于女同性恋者和男同性恋者之前，社会上同性恋者的平等无法完全实现。
