NORFOLK, Va. — Across every religion, and every belief, Reverend Mark Byrd believes acceptance should be a universal connection.
"It can be surprising for folks to hear faith or church, in the same thought as LGBTQ or transgender," Byrd said.
Byrd, the senior pastor at the New Life Metropolitan Community, doesn't shy away from who he is: an open member of the LGBTQ+ community, and reverend of a congregation that is largely, though not exclusively, made up of LGBTQ+ members.
Now, he’s organizing other faith leaders across the region to stand with him, united.
On Wednesday, Byrd and roughly a dozen other leaders across different denominations and faith traditions held a news conference outside of MJ's Tavern on Granby Street in Norfolk to address increasing violence and rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community.
"You'll hear perspectives from different faith leaders, who folks might be surprised are supportive of LGBTQ+ folks," Byrd said. "We want to voice our concerns about the rising violence, but also to express and make folks aware of our support as faith communities of folks being targeted.”
Their announcement comes a day after the Human Rights Campaign declared a "State of Emergency" for LGBTQ+ Americans, citing a rise in discriminatory laws signed this year in the United States.
According to them, more than 500 discriminatory bills against the community have been introduced in state lawmaking bodies this year, with more than 70 that were signed into law.
"Words do matter, and the way words are talked in rhetoric fuels the fire of hatred and bigotry," Byrd said.