Report from anti same-sex marriage rally in Asheville NC, w/pics

http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/51143

Police, gay rights advocates clash at rally sponsored by local churches

By Clarke Morrison, Staff WriterMarch 6, 2004 3:40 p.m.
ASHEVILLE - A fracas erupted Saturday on City-County Plaza as a line of police officers attempted to separate gay protesters from a rally in support of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.

Several hundred people converged on the plaza to make their views known. Some came from area churches to hear ministers proclaim marriage to be a sacred bond between a man and woman, while others said homosexuals should have the same rights.

Police arrested several people who attempted to break through a line of officers as they moved the vocal protesters across Spruce Street. Interim Police Chief Ross Robinson said they were moved for safety reasons.http://www.citizentimes.com/photogallery/gallery.php?gallery=411&photo=0&direction=down

see photos here:
http://www.citizentimes.com/photogallery/gallery.php?gallery=411&photo...
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Our quick report:

The family values ( anti-gay) rally was organized and had many speakers including government and church leaders. The counter rally had not been organized and people showed up from word of mouth. Given this, it was heartening to see that our numbers were not so much less than theirs. In the paper they said they hoped for thousands...ha ha ha, both groups were in the hundreds.

Stone_Spirits and I arrived to see both groups assembled on the lawn, the colorful pro-people group on the right with their rainbow flags and the drab anti-gay people on the left, separated by a line of police.

For a while the groups seemed to coexist while various preachers railed against same sex unions. Some of the signs read "marriage is about love not gender"!, "Jesus loves everyone!", "separation of church and state" etc,etc.

It wasn't long before the police began to push our group further to the side, at this point there were several arrests of people who didn't seem to move quickly enough. The first person arrested, simply asked," why do we have to move back?" The police manhandled this person as they took them away.

Eventually, they had us all moved to the other side of the street in a grassy area. As long as people stayed in this area they were ok. From there, we couldn't really hear what was being said from the stage. When US Republican Senator Charles Taylor spoke people started to chant "banking criminal!!" (Taylor should be in jail for illegal bank practices but has been well shielded by the powers that be)

People held mock weddings, sang songs, and generally had a good time. Hats were passed around for jail support. Eleven people were arrested. Of course the police made sure they filmed all of us unAmerican rabble rousers, as usual. Soon both crowds dispersed and that was it.

they'd set me up with a woman. You know, the upturned triangle image in that dude's picket sign rather than the square? Do you think they would?

Also, isn't the square missing a rectangle and the triangle missing two circles? :evilgrin: Are they so pusillanimous that they can't draw human symbols properly? This isn't a geometry lesson, y'know... !

I just noticed as I clicked "post". The moran has it spelled "sactity"! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!! He failed English as well as biology, though he probably did get a C+ in geometry... :D

maybe they could set me up with one but I go for leftist girls :).

At least he can draw a self portrait.

No self-respecting gay man would want a "prize" like that: dumb, unattractive, narrow-minded, bigoted, bad speller, with a big-ass ring to boot.

in pic #13.

preserve the sactity of marriage

moran.

on edit: thanks for sharing the picture, it's a keeper.

What a moran.

I HATE to do this to you...but it's "MORON" Sorry, dude.

the pro war guy had a sign that said

GET A BRAIN MORANS

and now people say moran instead of moron.

I just didn't want you to think I was doing a spelling flame on you. I was a bit reluctant to even post what I did.

Glad you didn't take it personally. And thanks for letting me in on the joke. I missed it.

So maybe I'm a "moran"

LOL

This guy:

Gee, look at the two people closest to the camera: The one covering her right nip with her hand. Then look at the bloke in the gown. See the difference? Guess which one isn't cowardly enough to wear dark sunglasses as a true sign of filthy shame. (Maybe she'd be happier at home protesting online and doing other stereotypic things?)


Get a room, boys!


The skinhead in this pic looks rather happy. I wonder why?


Jesus himself likely said something similar before he was crucified. :cry:


Our favorite smeghead from a different angle, probably wondering why his nuts had sucked up back into his body... they probably saw that he doesn't know how to spell, or much more likely saw that his brilliant depiction of a human male lacks dangling bits so they followed his lead...


The truth has been told. If some Americans' minds are too small to grasp such a simple concept, well tough noogies on them.


"Will somebody PLEEEEEEEASE think of the children!!!" </hyper> More importantly, why are people so FUCKING STUPID as to bring children to a rally requiring a police presence? This idiot shouldn't be allowed to raise children... The two men kissing from #17 seemed to be more credible parents, and they hadn't any children with them.



It's amazing. With all the significant issues going on in this country, and the repukes (and impatient gays) would rather make an issue out of this instead. I'm gay. I can wait until a better time. Repukes had nothing else to go on until now... x(

excellent commentary! :-)

Good stuff.
I can't wait to get married to my hubby!

(good sig - Sliders rules!)

and the fundies scare me a lot more than the people dressed "freaky"....

Asheville rally heats up gay marriage debate

http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/51150

A few comments on this story,

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>"Police arrested several people who tried to break through a line of officers as they moved the vocal protesters across Spruce Street. Interim Police Chief Ross Robinson said they were moved for safety reasons."

-A few actively walked through the advancing line, others merely didn't move quickly enough or questioned the officers on their action.
Interesting how someone can "break through a line of officers" when they are standing stationary and that line of officers is moving into the crowd pushing them off the lawn.

>"About an hour into the rally, Robinson went to the podium to tell the demonstrators they had to move, and a line of about 35 officers formed between the two sides"

-I'm not aware of anyone who actually heard the order to move. We didn't. In general, it was hard to hear.

>"As they moved the protesters away, the crowd started chanting, "We're here, we're queer, we're not going away.""

-The chant was: We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear"

>Lauren Bradley, the city's public information officer, estimated there were about 400 people in the crowd. It appeared about half were there to support the rally and half to protest it, she said."

-Surprising, the half and half observation seems pretty accurate, though the total crowd size was probably 500 to 600.
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Local TV news, www.wlos.com (not updated yet), showed Rev. Ralph Sexton of "we still pray" fame, www.worthynews.com/news-features/we-still-pray.html , saying something like "It seems they were looking for a fight, we're not looking for a fight, we just want to bring them the gospel"
(That's right, you're just trying to change the Constitution to discriminate against a certain group of people)

The scene was described as "shocking".

---------------------
Friday's story before the rally:

Organizers hope thousands will attend this weekend's anti-gay-marriage rally

By Barbara Blake, Staff Writer
March 4, 2004 11:08 p.m.

ASHEVILLE - Organizers of a Saturday rally in support of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages say they expect members from more than 50 churches.

The event is billed as a rally "for family values and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman'' and was organized by members of the Swannanoa Valley Independent Missionary Baptist Church.

U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor will be among speakers during the rally at City-County Plaza. Other lawmakers and a host of pastors from churches in Buncombe and Madison counties will join Taylor at the podium beginning at 10:30 a.m., said Brad Jones, one of the organizers. Among them are state Sen. Robert Carpenter, state Rep. Bruce Goforth, and pastors Wendell Runion, Jim Dykes and Ralph Sexton Jr., Jones said.

..more..
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/51012

for standing up to these hateful people

:toast:

... and hearfelt thanks to all in Asheville who took a courageous stand against hate.

BTW, you might want to forward your report and pics to the Human Rights Campaign at hrc.org.

:bounce:

What's a marriage?


The Presidential Prayer Team is currently urging us
to: "Pray for the President as he seeks wisdom on how to legally codify the
definition of marriage. Pray that it will be according to Biblical
principles. With many forces insisting on variant definitions of marriage,
pray that 'God's Word' and His standards will be honored by our government."


Any good religious person believes prayer should be balanced by action. So
here, in support of the Prayer Team's admirable goals, is a proposed
Constitutional Amendment codifying a definition of marriage based entirely
upon Biblical principles:


Below are the six parts of the amendment as it BIBLICALLY should be written
and SOME of the biblical references to support those arguments.

A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man
and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5.)


Genesis 29:17-28 - Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful and
lovely. Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, "I will serve you seven years for
your younger daughter Rachel." La'ban said, "It is better that I give her to
you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me." So Jacob
served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because
of the love he had for her.

Then Jacob said to La'ban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my
time is completed." So La'ban gathered together all the men of the place,
and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought
her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (La'ban gave his maid Zil'pah to his
daughter Leah to be her maid." And in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and
Jacob said to La'ban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve
with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" La'ban said, "It is not
so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born. Complete
the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for
serving me another seven years."!


B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to
his wife or wives.

(II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)


II Samuel 5:13 - And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem,
after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.

C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the
wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed.

(Deut 22:13- 21


Deuteronomy 22:13-21 - "If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and
then spurns her, and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings an evil
name upon her, saying, 'I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did
not find in her the tokens of virginity,' then the father of the young woman
and her mother shall take and bring out the tokens of her virginity to the
elders of the city in the gate; and the father of the young woman shall say
to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he spurns her;
and lo, he has made shameful charges against her, saying, "I did not find in
your daughter the tokens of virginity." And yet these are the tokens of my
daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the garment before the elders
of the ! city. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him;
and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the
father of the young woman, because he has brought an evil name upon a virgin
of Israel; and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
But if the thing is true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the
young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her
father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with
stones, because she has wrought folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her
father's house; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you.


D. Marriage between a believer and a nonbeliever shall be forbidden.
(Gen24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:10-13; Neh 10:30)


Ezra 9:10-13 - "And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we
have forsaken they commandments, which thou didst command by they servants
the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering, to take possession
of it, is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands,
with their abominations which have filled it from end to end with their
uncleanness. Therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take
their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity,
that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave for an
inheritance to your children for ever.'

E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the
Constitution of any State, nor any state or! federal law, shall be construed
to permit divorce.

(Deut 22:19 Mark 10: 7-9)


Mark 10: 7-9 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one.' So they are no longer
two but one. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put
asunder."



F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the
widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not
give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished
in a manner to be determined by law.

(Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)


Genesis 38:6-10 - And Judah took a wife for Er, his first-born, and her name
was Ta'mar. But Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the Lord;
and the Lord slew him. Then Judah said to O'nan, "Go in to your brother's
wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up
offspring for your brother." But O'nan knew that the offspring would not be
his; so when he went in to his brother's wife he spilled the semen on the
ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. And what he did was
displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew him also.