UMAction Affirms U.S. Surgeon General Nominee's View of Marriage
Contact: Loralei Coyle  (202) 682-4131
May 2, 2008

"Should a potential holder of public office be automatically disqualified because he supports a traditional Christian view on sexual ethics, as the United Methodist Church does?"

—Executive Director of UMAction Mark Tooley

Fort Worth, Texas—In wake of the United Methodist Church's affirmation of traditional marriage this week, UMAction is defending U.S. Surgeon General nominee Jim Holsinger's views on marriage and sexuality. Dr. Holsinger's nomination by President Bush as U.S. Surgeon General has been on hold since last summer because he has publicly defended his denomination's stance on homosexuality.

Dr. Holsinger's opponents have singled out comments he made while serving on the United Methodist Task Force on Homosexuality in the early 1990s for criticism.  Dr. Holsinger resigned from the committee when it was clearly going to oppose the church's teaching.  The historic Methodist positions on homosexuality were reaffirmed by the church's 1992 General Conference.

Critics of Dr. Holsinger have also pointed to his leadership over the last 8 years in the United Methodist Church's Judicial Council, which has enforced the church's prohibition against actively homosexual clergy and same-sex unions.

This week, delegates from around the world are meeting in Fort Worth for United Methodism's governing General Conference. By strong margins, they have reaffirmed the church's position that homosexual practice is incompatible with Christian teaching.     

The United Methodist Church has 7.9 million members in the United States and is America's third largest religious group.

Mark Tooley, Executive Director of IRD's UMAction committee, commented:

Should a potential holder of public office be automatically disqualified because he supports a traditional Christian view on sexual ethics, as the United Methodist Church does?

If members of the U.S. Senate oppose Dr. Holsinger based on his qualifications, then they should say so. But it is grossly unfair to stall and attempt to kill his nomination primarily because he supports the historic views of his own denomination.

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