In an attempt to blur the line separating church and state, the Southern Baptists voted on Wednesday to ask President Clinton to reconsider his decision to appoint James Hormel as an ambassador.

This decision is based on the fact that Hormel is openly gay.

According to the Associated Press, the nation’s largest congregation voted 2,316 to 1,313 to ask the president to change his mind about Hormel.

On the one hand, it is to their credit that 1,313 members voted “no” on this proposition.

But this is Jerry Falwell’s bunch, and it isn’t the first time it has gotten involved in gay-bashing.

What makes this more awkward for those of us watching at home, is that this is President Clinton’s church, and another vote was taken to urge him to be admonished by his home congregation.

That one didn’t pass; apparently there are some lengths these folks won’t go to coerce a sitting president.

Hormel is a distinguished public servant who has used his fortune to help establish the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest gay and lesbian political action group.

By most accounts he is a stand-up guy.

Unfortunately, there are still people in this country that refuse to see past an individual’s sexual preference.

Enough with the gay bashing already. Don’t these people watch prime time television?

It’s okay to be gay. Lot’s of people are, you know? You can be gay, serve your country, and no one gets hurt.

These Baptists are really starting to embarrass us in front of the other more civilized countries of the world.

Jerry Falwell is so obsessed with homosexuality that it makes you wonder what his hang-up really is.

First it’s Teletubbies; now it’s ambassadors.

Even if we were to state that it is a given that the Bible says being gay is a sin, does it really require THIS much attention?

There are lots of other sins in the Bible, guys. Find one and complain about that for a while, okay?