Pastor Ken Hutcherson called a minute ago. The Antioch Bible Church pastor and gay marriage opponent says Town Hall (seating capacity 850) is not a large enough venue for the debate on January 18. Unless the event is moved from Town Hall to the Meydenbauer Convention Center in Bellevue, Hutcherson would cancel. That venue costs $10,000 and, Hutcherson said, we’d likely have to charge admission to cover the cost of the new venue. Hutcherson adds that Stephen Pidgeon, an attorney and the other anti-gay-marriage debater, is also pulling out due to concerns about the size of the venue.

Over 800 people already have tickets, Town Hall has booked the great hall, Dave Ross has agreed to moderate, and the Seattle Channel is planning to live-stream the debate—so even those without tickets will be able to watch and listen. Hutcherson and assistant Rachael Whaley were unequivocal last week that they were committed to participating at Town Hall. “Left you a message to say Steve Pidgeon is in,” Whaley wrote in an email last Thursday afternoon. “So it will be Pidgeon and Hutcherson.”

We can’t move to a new location on such short notice.

So now we need to find replacements for Hutcherson and Pidgeon. Which isn’t going to be easy: No one wants to argue the anti-side, it seems, and people working with state senators say none of them will participate. I got hard “no”s last week from the most outspoken anti-gay senators, Val Stevens and Dan Swecker.

We’re putting out calls left and right—pastors, lawmakers, activists, everyone—trying to get someone willing to stand in front of an audience and explain why they believe two people of the same gender shouldn’t get married. The event is going be moderated by KIRO’s Dave Ross, so it’ll be all fair and square.

113 replies on “Hutcherson Cancels on Gay Marriage Debate”

  5. @63: She’ll come when called, but you have to set out the candles, draw the pentagram, place the sacrifice in said pentagram, then chant her true name three times. All in all, a lot of work just to be in the presence of someone who is pretty unpleasant all the time.

  6. @96 even if brain damaged Hutch did offer to pay for it (re-cooping his costs in charging tickets is ridiculous) he agreed to the debate AND the venue beforehand. Backing out now like this when he couldn’t get his way just reeks of cowardice.

  8. Have you tried calling the Santorum campaign? He’s generally willing to stand in front of crowds to condemn gay marriage. Doing this would show that he’s got a pair of huge brass balls which is good for a candidate. Maybe you could offer that if he does this debate you would take down http://www.spreadingsantorum.com . That might be enough incentive for him and crushing him in a debate on gay marriage would be even more valuable at this point in the campaign than continuing the site.

  9. I’m sure “Hutch” would love to hear about our disappointment. You can e-mail him at Antioch Bible Church. Five years ago at Mt. Si he wouldn’t answer my question in an assembly; here he is – still backing down every chance he can. Couldn’t pack the venue, so now he has to withdraw. I’m still waiting, Hutch. Kit

  11. @93, meet @91. Venue was agreed upon.

    But, hey, “Let’s get real,” huh? Bellevue is Hutcherson’s stomping ground, right below Capitol Hill is not. He wants to pack the crowd w/ “his” audience. He thought he could w/ the original venue, but, let’s face it, the guy isn’t that bright. When he discovered how incompetent he had handled things, he called it off.

    If he offered to pay for the venue, then why did he suggest they charge admission? Convenient that you left that part out. He wants to charge admission because he thinks that people who want those who love each other to benefit fully & equally from the laws of this country don’t have that much money. He thought the admission fee would be a barrier. Or he’s just a cheapskate bastard. Perhaps a little of both. Either way, he wants to rig the audience.

    If you think that Dominic & the Stranger were trying to rig it, perhaps there’s something to that as well. But downtown Seattle is centrally located to a lot of people, as well as the major media outlets, far more than Bellevue. It’s a beautiful, comfortable hall w/ wonderful acoustics, and there’s a lot of history.

    And it was agreed upon by both parties.

    Spin this how you like, but we all know the truth: Hutcherson is a coward. If he’s convinced of his truth, it doesn’t matter if he speaks it in front of a stadium full of hecklers. But he’s not convinced, not in his heart. He’s able to make bank w/ his schtick, but in his heart of hearts, he knows he’s wrong. This is about love, and he’s preaching the opposite.

  13. Dear Let’s Be Real – Do you expect us to believe that Hutch was willing to pay for renting out a venue in Bellevue when it was just in Dec that he sent emails out to his church demanding they start giving more because the pastors on staff weren’t getting paid regularly? Let’s be real indeed. I’m on your email list, I have these.

    In the 5th chapter of Matthew Jesus (You remember him, right? I can introduce you to him sometime if you haven’t met) said to let your yes be yes and your no be no “anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Hutch has proven himself to be a false prophet and an opportunist. How many times has the man said that God told him something and it didn’t come to pass? Whether it was him making an ass of himself in front of Microsoft or claiming that God was not going to allow the pass of Ref 71 he has proven himself to be untrustworthy. I’m not sure why his church can’t see that.

    Please, for his sake and everyone else within earshot of him, get this man out from behind a microphone and get him help. He obviously has mental issues and he’s using God to validate his narcissism and delusions of grandeur.

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