U.S. envoy’s gay activism roils Dominican Republic religious leaders

Santo Domingo.- On initial concerns that the U.S. had designated an openly gay envoy to the Dominican Republic, then acting ambassador Daniel Foote on June 2013 affirmed that James Brewster comes "as Ambassador and not as a gay activist."

Washington’s envoy however has stirred controversy by posting a video to promote and celebrate Gay Pride Month.

In the video released by the enbassy Brewster and his husband BobSatawake affirm that U.S. president Barack Obama had decided to promote respect and equality for the LGBT community beyond U.S. borders.

Brewster, the first openly gay Ambassador appointed by the U.S. in Dominican Republic, married his partner Bob Satawake just hours after taking the oath and arrive in the country the next day.

He thanked the country for having received him but noted that there were those who weren’t so kind to them before their arrival and afterwards. "Those people who continue to discriminate against people for what they are ashuman beings should ask… hasn’t the time come to stop the hate?"

Religious leaders’ rebuke

Religious leaders including cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez and Dominican Evangelical Unity Council (CODUE) president Fidel Lorenzo Merán have criticized Brewster’s designation and the homosexual movement, calling it an attack the Dominican family and culture, which the U.S. Embassy promotes .

While Lopez Rodriguez even called the U.S. envoy a derogatory term, Meran Dominican society to rebuke Brewster’s attitude and the U.S. Embassy’s activism.