The New York Daily News reports that several Harlem pastors are having a conniption over a planned Gay Pride picnic in the Marcus Garvey Park later this month:

"If children start to believe it is okay to be gay, they will think it's okay to be a pedophile or have sex with animals," said Dr. Ronald Ferguson, the senior pastor at Antioch Church of God on W. 124th St. "It's a slippery slope."

Ferguson, who has three adult children and four grandkids, said he expects parishioners to follow his lead and stay indoors when the second annual Harlem Pride event arrives June 24.

"This gay pride nonsense is an abomination," Ferguson told the Daily News. "God does not want to see homosexuals in our parks."

Harlem Pride President Carmen Neely isn't budging: "I want the gay and lesbian people of uptown to have a celebration of our own. This will be different than the events in the West Village because it will be filled with people of color….I realize the church plays a big role in the black community, but we're people, too, and deserve our day in the sun."