CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A leader in the local Latin American community raised eyebrows yesterday when her comments regarding LGBT people and gay marriage were published in a local Spanish-language newspaper.
Qué Pasa Mi Gente wrote about last week’s historic U.S. Supreme Court hearings on two important cases challenging anti-LGBT marriage discrimination in their April 3-9 print edition released yesterday (see also digital print edition, page 12). The newspaper asked four community members for their opinions, including Maudia Meléndez, the executive director of Jesus Ministry.
“I have many gay friends and I have nothing against them as people,” Meléndez said. “But we have to rely on scripture, and the word of God makes it clear that it is an abomination for a man to lay with a man and a woman to lay with a woman.”
Meléndez has been an outspoken advocate for the local Latin American community. Her group, Jesus Ministry, works to empower the Latino community and has addressed immigration reform and local criminal justice issues.
Meléndez also currently serves on Mecklenburg County’s Special Justice and Public Safety Task Force. She was appointed to the position by the county board of commissioners.
Juan Ramos, an openly gay immigrants rights activist, was also asked for his opinion.
“This is an issue that affects me personally,” Ramos told the newspaper. “I think every person should have the right to marry whomever they want. Those who wield religion to oppose, I ask where is the love, where is the equality?”
Two other published opinions were positive. (You can read those below.)
Ramos and other Latino LGBT and straight ally community members have said Meléndez does not speak for the entire Latin American community. Many took to Facebook to respond to Melendez.
“She is definitely not the voice that represents me or most of my community,” said one community member. “It saddens me to see a member of my Latino community oppressing and judging others.Shame on her!”
A Qué Pasa Mi Gente reader poll on Facebook found that 68 percent of respondents were in favor of full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Meléndez once worked as a Spanish teacher for Anson County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. She’s also served terms on the boards of Crime Stoppers and Leadership Charlotte, as well as serving on former Mayor Pat McCrory’s Immigration Study Commission.
Other opinions
“This is a civil rights issue that must be resolved by society with laws that ensure fairness and equality among all people. You cannot base the laws of a country on religious considerations like those of the Middle Ages.”
— Brian Molina
“I’m an atheist and I’m not gay, and I think that neither the church nor the court have the right to decide for myself, who I want to marry. This is a subject that should not even be in discussion in a society where individual rights are respected.”
— Amuary Soto
Dear Matt,
Am sad to read about Rev. Melendez and her stand on our LGBT community. This point by her lets me to understand that for someone whom is fighting for and an immigration reform is only doing it for a few and not all. She does not seem to know and needs some training on cultural diversity from within her community that happens to be not just straight but, also LGBT. Thank you for sharing now am not sure if i should team up with her Jesus Ministries to work within our community at large or not.
I hope that members of Rev. Melendez’ family and community can help her outgrow her obsession with certain passages in a three thousand year old religious text of a tribe of nomadic sheep herders. I happen to find what later religious texts quoting Jesus of Nazareth say about gays and gay marriage to be much more embraceable.
As far as I know, Jesus is not quoted as saying anything about gays. Perhaps he didn’t see the need to single them out for discrimination the way so many of his “followers” have over the years.
If I had to make love to a women with a face like that I think I would abstain from sex forever, or masturbate three time a day looking at the Playboy centerfold.
She didn’t say that gays are an abomination. She quoted scripture that admonishes the act of being gay. She has the right to state her opinion.
Beyond the preaching and bible thumping and waving around snakes, it is important tu understand the bible is a work of stories. Embellished, fictionalized and over empathized to provide a message. 2000 or 3000 years is pretty long spell on the best seller list.
The stories are there to make a point, in this case the point being gay is not cool has basis in much of what the bible starts with, be fruitful and multiply. Well you can’t do that by banging your brother unless you happen to be his sister.
Pretty good advice if you are trying to build a nation or a religion .
Dillard you are so right her face could stop an 8 day clock, but given the choice between her face and your hairy butt, I’m going with Melendez.
Honestly if two guys wanna get married, well works for me. Pass a law maked it legal, then pass a law to raise the fees for marriage certificate to a thousand bucks and costs of divorce proceedings to 5. the income marrige tax should be a windfall for the treasury.
The state will either make a killing or the LGBT crowd with climb back into the closet to avoid playing te tax.
Agreed, Beth! This is a purposefully misleading headline. It should read “Latina leader says that scripture says gays are an abomination”
I disagree with her position that we need to rely on scripture. But there is no need to have a sensationalist headline like this.