When I first met Reverend Rick Hoyt he said, “You don’t have to call me Reverend – just Rick is fine.<\/p>\n
The bespectacled and youthful pastor sporting a salt-and-pepper beard, certainly didn’t look like a conventional “man-of-God.” In fact, the Unitarian Universalist church to which Rick belongs is known for defying Christian theological convention. And, Rick’s home at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles also has a history of defying political convention.<\/p>\n
The church, according to Hoyt, has been a “fierce advocate for personal liberties.” Even before Edward Snowden became a house-hold name, the First Unitarian Church of LA became a named plaintiff in a major lawsuit against the National Security Agency (NSA) over privacy violations. <\/p>\n
Nineteen organizations have joined Hoyt’s church in an unusual coalition that includes the Marijuana legalization group, NORML, and gun rights groups like the California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees.<\/p>\n
Hoyt admits that some of the groups are those his church doesn’t normally work with and “aren’t necessarily politically sympathetic with.” But the right to personal privacy is a libertarian position deeply held by both ends of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n