Dr. Todd Gaddis is pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lafayette in Georgia. He and his congregation oppose same sex marriage and are worried about the momentum of the LGBT rights movement. But he also has gay and lesbian friends and worries that fiery rhetoric can endanger LGBT people.The most memorable quotes in the Chattanooga Times Free Press for July 5-10.
“The state isn’t going to order me to officiate at a gay wedding, so it isn’t fair of me to interfere with the state and tell it not to issue marriage licenses.”
– Dr. Todd Gaddis, pastor of First Baptist Church of LaFayette, Ga.
“Hopefully they’ll go out, get some MoonPies, RC Colas, Oatmeal Creme Pies. We’ve done well with events like the Ironman and the (USA Cycling) bike race, and this can only help us get more events in town and more things that Finley Stadium could host.”
– Local resident Craig Gordon, looking forward to August when the U.S. women’s national soccer team, the Women’s World Cup champs, will be here for an exhibition match against Costa Rica
“The shark has the right to eat you up when you come to his house.”
– Veronica-Pooh Nash Poleate, a Hamilton County Schools guidance counselor whose “Summer Safety Tips” video reacting to a rash of shark bites in North Carolina has earned worldwide attention and more than 12 million Facebook views
“When a judge clearly violates the trust put in him or her by the public, it is not a minor offense. The public needs confidence that a judicial officer who does wrong will be punished.”
– U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy, sentencing former Murray County Magistrate Bryant Cochran to five years in federal prison for ordering a woman framed on a drug charge
“Why pay $40, $50 for a hydrocodone tablet when you can pay $10, $15 for a bag of heroin?”
– TBI Director Mark Gwyn on a sharp increase in heroin use in Tennessee