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On Thursday morning—America's National Day of Prayer—L.A. City Councilmembers Mike Bonin and Mitch O'Farrell convened a group of LGBT and faith leaders to pray for the future of our country.
"On this National Day of Prayer, the resistance continues," O'Farrell said as he stood with Bonin alongside prominent members of the city's LGBT community at the entrance to City Hall. "I will pray for those among us who believe themselves to be morally superior, who seek to use their power, under the guise of religious belief, to discriminate against others who believe differently, and love differently."
"I will pray for the ideologues and zealots... I pray that the Trump administration and those that support his policies realize the errors of their ways," O'Farrell continued.
The event was intended to coincide with President Trump's signing of a controversial executive order that many expected would allow religious discrimination against LGBT Americans (the actual order, which was signed this morning, ended up being far less broad; it eased IRS restrictions on political activity for religious organizations). Bonin and O'Farrell, who are the only two openly gay members of Los Angeles City Council, have spoken out on LGBT issues together in the past.
Pastor Curt Thomas, an openly gay pastor who leads South L.A.'s non-denominational Renewed Church of Los Angeles, led the group in a prayer "for our nation, our cities, and our LGBT community."
"We ask you, God, to give us wisdom and courage to stand during these times," Thomas said. "We ask you, God, to go to the White House and we ask you, God, to touch and change the hearts of the people that are there," he continued.
