Rather than beg for mercy, the pastor upped the stakes.
The church “needs to stop judging people based on their sexual orientation,” he told jurors. “We have to stop the hate speech. We have to stop treating them as second-class Christians.”
After the jury pronounced its sentence, Schaefer's supporters began overturning chairs in the courtroom—symbolizing the biblical story of Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers—and held an impromptu communion service.
Schaefer's trial rekindled debate within the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination over church policies on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The denomination accepts gay and lesbian members, but it rejects the practice of homosexuality as “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
Schaefer donned a rainbow-colored stole on the witness stand and told jurors it symbolized his commitment to the cause.
