Openly gay United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic and his husband have fired back at critics who ridiculed them for their sexual orientation in a video posted to the embassy's Facebook page and YouTube channel on Thursday, according to Reuters.
James "Wally" Brewster and his spouse, Bob Satawake, called for an end to intolerance in the public address about controversy which erupted after President Barack Obama nominated him to the post last June, Reuters reported.
"To those individuals who continue to discriminate against individuals because of who they are as human beings, I have to ask, 'Isn't it time to stop hating?'" Brewster said in the video, which commemorated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, according to Reuters.
The former head of a Chicago-area consultancy and Obama campaign fundraiser was chosen along with four other openly gay men to serve as top diplomats, Reuters reported. The nominations came during the Obama administration's push for gay rights on a more global scale.
Leaders of Dominican Roman Catholic and evangelical churches vocally rejected Brewster's appointment as being out of step with the country's values, according to Reuters. Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Cedaño said at the time, "If he arrives, he's going to suffer and will have to leave."
Evangelical Confraternity leader Cristobal Cardozo called it "an insult to good Dominican customs," Reuters reported. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, archbishop of Santo Domingo, later referred to Brewster using an anti-gay slur in comments to the press.
"Has it always been easy? No," Brewster said in the video, which was posted to the embassy's Facebook page and YouTube channel, according to Reuters. "Of course, there were those that were not so kind prior to our arrival and after we landed."
Brewster went on to quote Pope Francis, who last year said, "Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?," when asked about homosexuality, Reuters reported.
Satawake and Brewster married in Washington, D.C., in November, just hours after Brewster was sworn in.
The video was lauded by gay rights groups, which shared the video on social media channels, according to Reuters.
