It's not news. Anti-gay politician, State Sen. Mark Boitano is a member of the Unification Church - a Moonie. But a new book on the Reverend Sun Myung Moon includes a account of a 1979 incident involving the Albuquerque lawmaker that may be news to lot of people in New Mexico.
The book's title says it all: Bad Moon Rising - How Reverend Moon Created The Washington Times, Seduced the Religious Right, and Built an American Kingdom. The author, John Gorenfeld, has been reporting on Moon for years and exposed the story behind the 2004 Capitol Hill party at which Moon had himself and his wife coronated as "King and Queen of America." Boitano was there. Lobbyist Charlie Black, John McCain's chief political advisor, was on the coronation host committee.
She (Unification Church spokesperson, Betty Lancaster) made news in 1979 after
trigger-happy young churchman fired rifle shots at fleeing exit counselors. The
visitors had brought two ex-members by the dorm in Norfolk, Virginia, to collect
their belongings. Lancaster told the Washington Post that the visitors were
"criminals" who made off with church property - including an anticommunism film
featuring Ronald Reagan.
As the van lurched into gear, young Unification Church member Mark Boitano,
twenty-six, was ordered by another sect member to shoot a rifle at the fleeing
ex-members. One bullet punctured the front tire. Another pierced a door on the
passenger side, but no one was hurt. In an unlikely twist of fate, Boitano
stayed with the church and is now a GOP state senator in New Mexico.
Six shots in all were fired. Boitano, the Unification Church's Norfolk director at the time, was arrested. Obviously it's a good thing the shots failed to hit any of the occupants or we're looking at a Jonestown, Guyana airstrip moment. You can read more of the WaPo account on Gorenfeld's website.
It seems that Boitano's past exploits as a cult leader and his current devotions became an issue in the 2008 race for Congressional district 1. He told blogger Dennis Domrzalski that Republican bigwigs threatened to attack him over his church membership if he carried through on his plans to run against Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. Boitano dropped out.
full article, which includes a video of Moon channeling Theodore Roosevelt endorsement from the spirit world.
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