Rev. Jerry Prevo, of Anchorage Baptist Temple, hasn't actually acted silly like he did, say, in 1985, when he allowed three members of his congregation to dress as devils and act like protesters with the anti-apartheid folks in front of his church to get attention. Nor has he openly incited violence like he did when he preached to his congregation in 1994 about shooting liberals. This is what he said then, "The only reason I would not take a gun and do it is because of God. That's the only reason...In fact, it would be better to shoot a liberal, then, and then be put in jail. Maybe they'd at least feed you."

But he's back in the news. This time it's about the ordinance that will get a hearing Tuesday at the Anchorage Assembly about whether or not the city should ban discrimination against gays and lesbians. It's not a new fight for Anchorage, having been voted in, and then vetoed at least three times in the past 30 years. As now, Prevo has led the fight against all of the ordinances, and he's always won.

Maybe not so this time. This time, the ordinance is being supported by such groups as the League of Women Voters, the Anchorage Education Association, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, and the Anchorage Urban League. It also has the backing of a wide swath of religious leaders.

And that might make all the difference.

Forget what others have said. This is not a fight about men walking into women's bathrooms, or about people showing up to work in drag. This is not a fight about special rights, or about government control. This is a fight about religion, and about whether or not sexuality is something you are born with.

Many in the religious Right says that God would never create someone who is gay. People who are gay say that God made them who they are, and love them for it, and the community should not be allowed to discriminate against them because of it.

It seems to me that they should know, and the country is beginning more and more to believe this also. Now, six states allow for gay marriage, and more than 100 cities and municipalities have ordinances protecting the rights of gays and lesbians. Gallup studies show that from 1996 44% of Americans found homosexuality to be an "acceptable alternative life style."  That number is now at 57%.   In 1997, only 27% were in favor of "marriage between same sex couples being recognized by the law as valid with the same rights as traditional marriages." That number is now at 40%.  Also, ABC News/Washington Post surveys have indicated a 31-point rise from 1993 to 2009 in the belief that "homosexuals who do publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the military." (44% in 1993, 75% this year).

Younger evangelicals are becoming more accepting of gays and lesbians. According to a Faith in Public Life survey, younger evangelicals are two and a half times as likely to support same sex unions as older evangelicals. This gap has grown by nine points over the last two years. A recent PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly research found that 58 percent of younger, white evangelicals support legal recognition of same-sex civil unions.

Rev. Jerry Prevo was once such a prominent supporter of right-wing Christian candidates that those he supported were part of a group dubbed, "The Prevo Ticket."  But I think that's so old hat. All that politicking. All the divisiveness. All those men shaven to an inch of their lives, flashing diamond rings, passing notes to our leaders during vote time. That's just so 1990s.

My own pastors, John Carey and Dianne O'Connell of Immanuel Presbyterian Church, will be at the Anchorage Assembly tomorrow night. Anchorage, meet your powerful Christian Left. In with the old, out with the new. Although they would be startled to hear this about themselves, these guys are so 2010.