Marriage Digest: Protests Show Intolerant Side
Of "Gay Marriage" Movement
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, July 23, 2010 - (BP)--A
23-city bus tour by the National Organization for Marriage
was intended to rally Americans to support the traditional
definition of marriage, but its first few stops also
have served as a platform for protests to show the
ugly side of the "gay marriage" movement.
In Albany, N.Y., July 17, protesters with rainbow-colored
balloons and umbrellas walked behind the podium during
the outdoor sunny rally and refused to move. The next
day in Providence, R.I., protesters went a step further,
walking through the crowd and shouting at attendees
and even approaching the podium and screaming at the
speaker, National Organization for Marriage President
Brian Brown. Both rallies were held in front of the
respective state capitols.
At one point, the protesters and Brown were only a
few feet apart.
"This is the face of tolerance," Brown said,
speaking into the microphone and using sarcasm to make
an ironic point.
"This is the face of love!" the protester
screamed back at Brown.
With attendees seemingly in disbelief, Brown told them, "Activists
have come to break up our rallies and silence us. The
moment we allow them to silence us is the moment our
civil rights have been taken away."
Police apparently were unprepared and had to wait for
backup to restore order.
Videos, since posted on YouTube, captured the exchange.
(Watch them at www.Marriagetour2010.com.) One protester,
heard on a video, said to a parent, "You'd better
watch that kid or we're gonna kidnap him." Brown
said another protester was heard saying, "Mommy
raising you to be a good little bigot?"
The National Organization for Marriage was instrumental
in helping pass California Proposition 8 and Maine
Question 1, each of which reversed laws that had legalized "gay
marriage" in those states.
"Not only did they truly embarrass themselves
and their cause," Brown said in an e-mail to supporters, "they
made our point far more powerfully than we could ever
hope to do, making it crystal clear how far they are
willing to go to force their agenda on all of society.
"... If gay marriage ever becomes the law in Rhode
Island, or any other state, remember this display of
intolerance when they tell you they would never dream
of forcing it on young children in public schools,
as they did in Massachusetts and California."
Brown added, "We have a message of tolerance and
respect for all, adults and children alike. Theirs
is a message of intolerance and hatred -- if you don't
agree with me, you're a bigot and we're going to either
shout you down or intimidate you into silence. That's
no civil rights movement."
PELOSI'S PRESS SECRETARY 'MARRIES' PARTNER -- House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press secretary, Drew Hammill, "married" his
partner, Jason Mida, in Washington D.C. in late May,
according to an announcement in The New York Times.
The announcement said Hammill is 31, Mida 30.
"Gay marriage" is legal in the District of
Columbia as well as in five states: Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa. Pelosi,
whose district covers San Francisco, supports "gay
marriage."
As a spokesman for the speaker, Hammill often is quoted
in the media.
ARGENTINA 10TH COUNTRY TO LEGALIZE 'GAY MARRIAGE' --
Argentina in mid-July became the 10th country to legalize "gay
marriage" when its Senate passed a bill, 33-27,
following a 16-hour session, the Associated Press reported.
It is the first Latin American country to do so. President
Cristina Fernandez supports "gay marriage."
Sen. Juan Perez Alsina opposed the bill. "Marriage
between a man and a woman has existed for centuries,
and is essential for the perpetuation of the species," he
said, according to AP.
The other countries that have legalized "gay marriage" are
the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa,
Norway, Sweden, Portugal and Iceland.
# # #
By Michael Foust - Michael Foust is an assistant
editor of Baptist Press. The Southern Baptist Convention
has a ministry to homosexuals. Find more information
at www.sbcthewayout.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Baptist Press
Web site: www.bpnews.net
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, July 23, 2010 - (BP)--A
23-city bus tour by the National Organization for Marriage
was intended to rally Americans to support the traditional
definition of marriage, but its first few stops also
have served as a platform for protests to show the
ugly side of the "gay marriage" movement.
In Albany, N.Y., July 17, protesters with rainbow-colored
balloons and umbrellas walked behind the podium during
the outdoor sunny rally and refused to move. The next
day in Providence, R.I., protesters went a step further,
walking through the crowd and shouting at attendees
and even approaching the podium and screaming at the
speaker, National Organization for Marriage President
Brian Brown. Both rallies were held in front of the
respective state capitols.
At one point, the protesters and Brown were only a
few feet apart.
"This is the face of tolerance," Brown said,
speaking into the microphone and using sarcasm to make
an ironic point.
"This is the face of love!" the protester
screamed back at Brown.
With attendees seemingly in disbelief, Brown told them, "Activists
have come to break up our rallies and silence us. The
moment we allow them to silence us is the moment our
civil rights have been taken away."
Police apparently were unprepared and had to wait for
backup to restore order.
Videos, since posted on YouTube, captured the exchange.
(Watch them at www.Marriagetour2010.com.) One protester,
heard on a video, said to a parent, "You'd better
watch that kid or we're gonna kidnap him." Brown
said another protester was heard saying, "Mommy
raising you to be a good little bigot?"
The National Organization for Marriage was instrumental
in helping pass California Proposition 8 and Maine
Question 1, each of which reversed laws that had legalized "gay
marriage" in those states.
"Not only did they truly embarrass themselves
and their cause," Brown said in an e-mail to supporters, "they
made our point far more powerfully than we could ever
hope to do, making it crystal clear how far they are
willing to go to force their agenda on all of society.
"... If gay marriage ever becomes the law in Rhode
Island, or any other state, remember this display of
intolerance when they tell you they would never dream
of forcing it on young children in public schools,
as they did in Massachusetts and California."
Brown added, "We have a message of tolerance and
respect for all, adults and children alike. Theirs
is a message of intolerance and hatred -- if you don't
agree with me, you're a bigot and we're going to either
shout you down or intimidate you into silence. That's
no civil rights movement."
PELOSI'S PRESS SECRETARY 'MARRIES' PARTNER -- House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press secretary, Drew Hammill, "married" his
partner, Jason Mida, in Washington D.C. in late May,
according to an announcement in The New York Times.
The announcement said Hammill is 31, Mida 30.
"Gay marriage" is legal in the District of
Columbia as well as in five states: Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa. Pelosi,
whose district covers San Francisco, supports "gay
marriage."
As a spokesman for the speaker, Hammill often is quoted
in the media.
ARGENTINA 10TH COUNTRY TO LEGALIZE 'GAY MARRIAGE' --
Argentina in mid-July became the 10th country to legalize "gay
marriage" when its Senate passed a bill, 33-27,
following a 16-hour session, the Associated Press reported.
It is the first Latin American country to do so. President
Cristina Fernandez supports "gay marriage."
Sen. Juan Perez Alsina opposed the bill. "Marriage
between a man and a woman has existed for centuries,
and is essential for the perpetuation of the species," he
said, according to AP.
The other countries that have legalized "gay marriage" are
the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa,
Norway, Sweden, Portugal and Iceland.
# # #
By Michael Foust - Michael Foust is an assistant
editor of Baptist Press. The Southern Baptist Convention
has a ministry to homosexuals. Find more information
at www.sbcthewayout.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Baptist Press
Web site: www.bpnews.net