Warren defends role at inaugural

Under fire for opposing same-sex marriage, evangelical pastor Rick Warren said this weekend that he loves Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, and he also loves "gays and straights."

The 54-year-old pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Southern California spoke Saturday at the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual convention in Long Beach, Calif.

Warren told the crowd of 500 that it is unrealistic to expect everyone to agree on everything. "You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand," he said.

Warren also defended President-elect Barack Obama's decision to invite him to give the invocation at the Jan. 20 inauguration.

Obama's choice of Warren last week sparked outcry from gay rights and other liberal groups, who said choosing such an outspoken opponent of gay marriage was tantamount to endorsing bigotry. "Three years ago I took enormous heat for inviting Barack Obama to my church because some of his views don't agree [with mine]," he said. "Now he's invited me."

Warren said he prays for the same things for Obama that he prays for himself: integrity, humility, and generosity.

Obama defended his choice on Thursday, noting that he has also invited Joseph Lowery, a Methodist minister and civil rights leader who supports same-sex marriage and gay rights, to deliver the benediction.

"During the course of the entire inaugural festivities, there are going to be a wide range of viewpoints that are presented," Obama said. "And that's how it should be, because that's what America's about. That's part of the magic of this country. . . . We are diverse and noisy and opinionated."

Toward the end of his speech, Warren also talked about singer Melissa Etheridge, who performed earlier in the evening. Warren said the two had a "wonderful conversation" and that he is a huge fan who has all her albums.

The openly lesbian gay rights activist agreed to sign her Christmas album for him, he said.

Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is gay, said yesterday that Obama shouldn't have selected Warren to deliver the invocation. "Giving that kind of mark of approval and honor to someone who has frankly spoken in ways I and many others have found personally very offensive - I thought that was a mistake for the president-elect to do," Frank said on CNN's "Late Edition."

Warren gained a prominent role in the presidential election in August when he hosted the Civil Forum on the Presidency, a two-hour televised show in which he interviewed Obama and his Republican opponent John McCain for an hour each on faith and moral issues.

Warren has won kudos from some liberal quarters by focusing less on traditional conservative issues such as abortion and gay rights, and instead calling on evangelical leaders to devote more attention to eradicating poverty, fighting AIDS in Africa, expanding educational opportunity for the marginalized, and global warming.

But the preacher angered many liberals when he publicly supported California's Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to ban gay marriage. Although Warren has said that he has nothing personally against gays, he has condemned same-sex marriage.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Democrat from the District of Columbia, is asking Congress to provide more cash to help the District of Columbia pay for inaugural planning and security. The District of Columbia has received $15 million from the federal government, but Norton says the city needs twice that amount and cites the crowds expected for the event.

In a news release, Norton said the federal government gave Denver and St. Paul $50 million each to pay for security during the Democratic and Republican national conventions this year.

WASHINGTON POST