Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, Associated Press via WAVY TV, Soulforce press release 

 
Equality Riders talk with Liberty University students in Lynchberg photo: Soulforce

Associated Press reports that Equality Ride participants met with students in an off-campus area set aside by the administration of Columbia International University in Columbia, SC. The gay activists scrapped plans to enter the campus after school official threatened to arrest any of them who stepped onto school property.

About 10 police officers were on hand in case any protesters tried to enter the campus, Associated Press reports.

Soulforce's annual Equality Ride is meant to encourage an inviting environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender students.

At its first stop on the bus tour last week,  five members of Soulforce held hands and stood to face about 50 Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

"Nowhere in the Bible does it say, 'homosexuality is sin,'" said Soulforce member Nicholas Rocco DeFinis.

Liberty student Steven Mosley disagreed. "This is never affirmed in the Bible, ever," he said. "You should not be living like this."

Although they disagreed, dialogue was exactly what Soulforce had hoped for, said Jarrett Lucas. "Ideally, we come together and understand each other before the end of the day -- or however long it takes."

When Soulforce members went to Liberty in 2006, more than 20 were arrested on charges of trespassing after walking onto school property.

Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said last week that the group was told again this year not to come onto the campus. "But they didn't cause any incidents, so we didn't arrest anybody."

Since only five Equality Riders were permitted on campus at Liberty University, students were invited to continue the discussion with the Riders at a designated location on University Blvd., according to a statement on the event from Soulforce. 

"Every Rider has a unique story. Since all of the Liberty students we spoke to seemed genuinely interested in this discussion, we wanted them to be able to hear all of our voices," Nicholas Rocco DeFinis, a Rider from Lansdale, PA, is quoted as saying by the statement.

At both Liberty and Columbia International, Equality Riders donated gay-affirming Christian books books to each school's library.

After the visits to Liberty and Columbia International, members of a gay activist group are heading south to Atlanta for the next stops in a bus tour of 15 faith-based institutions.

An anonymous student thanked the Riders, the Times-Dispatch reports: "Just by being here, you are providing so much comfort to so many students."

The 18 to 26-year-old Equality Riders are members of Soulforce Q, the young adult division of Soulforce, a national social justice organization.

Since 2006, the Equality Ride has visited 50 schools, hosting public forums, participating in panel discussions, and taking part in worship services and Bible studies. The goal is to inspire further conversation and to empower students, faculty, and administrators to make their school welcoming to all students, according to the Soulforce website.

Source: Gay activists' bus tour heads to Atlanta - News - inRich.com
Gay-rights group protests at Columbia campus | WAVY TV (AP)
Equality Riders and Liberty U. Students Create Spirited Diaogue On Campus | Soulforce press release

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