R.I.P. Jamiel Terry

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12/01/2011

by Jeremy Hooper

Militant activist Randall Terry speaking about his son Jamiel, January 2006:

There are three options when you find out a family member is homosexual. One is accept them and their lifestyle as if it's normal. Two is to reject them and sever your relationship. Three is to love them unconditionally, but to tell them you do not accept their behavior as normal, and to tell them the truth. If I love my son, I can't say to him, "Hey, you're committing suicide on the installment plan. This is a great lifestyle." I have to be honest with him. Take out the word homosexuality and put in alcoholism or put in drug addiction. Would you tell a drug addict, "I accept you. This is your choice, this is your life and I will stand by you"? The average death age of a male homosexual is 42 years old because of disease, because of suicide, because of alcoholism, because of drugs, because of violence. It's just not a good world. It's a self-abusive, self-destructive sexual addiction.
[Beliefnet]

Grieving father Randall Terry, today:

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Dec. 1, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- On November 30, at 7:00 A.M., Jamiel Terry, age 31, was killed in a head on collision in Lilburn, Georgia. Gwinnett police spokesman Jake Smith said that the three passengers in the other vehicle were hospitalized with injuries that were not life threatening. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

Jamiel Terry was the adopted son of Operation Rescue Founder, Randall Terry, who is currently in the Democratic Primary for President for 2012.

Background:

Jamiel Terry and his younger sister were adopted by Mr. Terry and his first wife in 1994, after being in foster care with the Terry's since 1988.

In 2006, Jamiel Terry made national headlines with his announcement that he was a practicing homosexual, and began to promote homosexual marriage. Randall Terry has long been engaged in high profile political efforts to defeat the attempt to legalize homosexual marriage.

The rift between Jamiel and Randall Terry was widely exploited and at times misrepresented in print and on TV. However, Randall and Jamiel maintained frequent contact, and were "working through their issues."

Mr. Terry states:

"We are all in a state of shock, and unthinkable grief. I loved him dearly; we all did.

"Jamiel had a brilliant mind, and was a gentle soul. And as anyone knows who has spent time with him, he was funny, articulate, and a formidable debater on many topics.

"I thank God that Jamiel and I spoke regularly, and texted each other about a wide variety issues, frequently discussing and debating elections, politics and policy, to which we have both dedicated our time and talents.

"While we remained irreconcilable on the issue of 'homosexual marriage,' Jamiel remained firmly pro-life, and recently helped convince a young woman to not kill her child by abortion. There were many other issues that we kicked around -- with laughter and good humor.

"We had recently agreed to hold joint speaking events at colleges and other venues, to discuss and debate the issues that are dear to us as a 'father and son' lecture team. I wish to God we had been able to do even one of them.

"We beg you for your prayers for our family, and beg you to pray for the mercy of God, and the eternal rest of Jamiel's soul. He will be sorely missed. We still cannot believe this is happening. God have mercy; Christ have mercy."