‘The People vs. Michael M.’ [Christians jailed in Philadelphia]

It’s a pretty safe bet that Hollywood will never make a movie called "The People vs. Michael Marcavage." When it comes to the subject of the First Amendment, the Hollywood left only takes it up on behalf of pornographers, strippers and other such fascinating victims. Evangelical street preachers are not worthy of such celebration or protection.

The film "The People vs. Larry Flynt," starring Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love, on the other hand, not only got made, it was showered with praise and awards. It was hailed as a patriotic salute to freedom of speech, and Larry Flynt was heralded as a savior of the First Amendment.

Lansdowne’s Marcavage has not been so honored. But this is understandable. Among other things, he and his group, Repent America, believe it is important to show the world the graphic effects of abortion. They use poster-sized photographs of bloody and dismembered fetuses to get their point across.

Many people who are forced to view such photos are appalled. They dislike Marcavage and his followers for shoving the reality of abortion in their faces.

In October, Marcavage attended a gay pride event in Philadelphia called OutFest. He and his group attempted to inform the revelers they were all going to Hell if they did not change their ways.

Having announced his plan to bring his street ministry to the event, the gay and lesbian organizers came up with their own plan to keep Marcavage’s message from being heard. When Repent America arrived, the "Pink Angels" -- a group of gays with large, pink Styrofoam placards -- greeted them. Apparently, their plan was to surround Marcavage and drown out his message.

At first, they blocked his group from entering the event. But since it was being held on a public street, this was illegal. Marcavage, a man who thrives on confrontation and knows the law, pointed this out to police officers. His group was escorted past the Pink Angels. But when he tried to speak, the Pink Angels started blowing whistles and yelling obscenities at him.

Police tried to direct Marcavage’s group to a particular spot far away the main stage. But when Marcavage tried to move closer, police arrested him.

He and 10 others were charged with rioting, reckless endangerment, obstructing a highway, failing to disperse, disorderly conduct, ethnic intimidation and possessing an instrument of crime. A gun? A knife? No. A bullhorn, through which he quoted biblical scripture.

Whatever you think of Repent America, it’s hard to argue that its members’ civil rights were respected in this incident. Moreover, the charges levied against them are ridiculous. A video of the incident makes it pretty clear that Marcavage’s group was not rioting or otherwise breaking the law.

Nonetheless, after reviewing the video, a Philadelphia municipal court judge held there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.

"This case is historic," says Marcavage’s attorney, C. Scott Shields, "..the first criminal case in the history of our nation where openly preaching the word of God and quoting scripture on signs at a public gay and lesbian event formed the evidentiary basis for a hate-crime charge."

Shields, of Media, has known of Marcavage’s religious activism for several years.

"I was turned off until I saw him in action." He’s no fire-and-brimstone guy, Shields says. "He’s very peaceful with what he does."

Just last July, his client was forcibly carried out of a Lansdowne Borough Council meeting for questioning the efforts of some in the borough to make Lansdowne one of the more attractive gay destinations in Delaware County.

"He only spoke for two minutes before he was dragged out of the room," Shields said, and he has the videotape to prove it.

Since being carted off to a mental ward at the direction of Temple University officials five years ago, says Shields, "He’s gotten smart. He doesn’t do these things without a (video) production company with him."

At the Lansdowne meeting, his client only talked for two minutes before his reading from the Bible was deemed "hate speech" and the meeting was adjourned.

Remember those old movies where religious nuts would go around saying "Repent -- the end is near?" Nobody was particularly threatened by them. They were simply made fun of. Today, they are arrested and charged with hate crimes.

What are gays and non-believers so threatened by? Where is the tolerance they so demand from others? And what are the police thinking? Just because someone invokes the name of Jesus doesn’t mean their civil rights can be brushed aside. Marcavage has every bit as much right to non-violently spout his religious views as gays have the right to publicly celebrate their homosexuality.

Gil Spencer’s column appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at spencer@delcotimes.com.

Overall, the article is very fair towards Mr. Marcavage. However, the above section from the article can bring about the wrong impression about him. The incident at Temple University that he was involved in is mentioned in this article, which I have excerpted below. It could explain why the request for an emergency injunction against the City of Phildelphia's proceedings against the "Philly 11" was rejected by the District Court.

Eighty years ago the Soviet Union developed a novel method of dealing with dissenters: it labeled them insane and committed them to mental institutions. A Temple University student contends that his school resorted to these very tactics in response to his objections to a school-sponsored performance of a play that depicts Jesus as a promiscuous homosexual.

Michael Marcavage filed suit against Temple University in December 2000 for a an incident in which he alleges that University officials censored an event he had organized, roughed him up, and involuntarily committed him to the psychiatric ward of the school's hospital. His only offense, he claims, was to organize an event to counter a play that mocks Christianity.

The civil rights suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and contends that the plaintiff's First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated. The defendants in the suit are Temple University, its vice president for operations, William Bergman, and its managing director of campus safety services, Carl Bittenbender. Attorneys for the plaintiff include lawyers for the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy....

During a contentious meeting on November 2, 1999-less than a week before the planned event was to take place-Temple vice president William Bergman called Marcavage into his office to inform him that the university was not permitting him to hold his program. Following a discussion, a disgusted Marcavage retreated to the restroom, threw water on his face, and asked God for direction about what to do next. God, however, had little to do with what then happened....

Marcavage's suit states that Temple Vice President "[William] Bergman pounded on the [bathroom] door and demanded that [Marcavage] come out." Marcavage then opened the door and was physically forced by Bergman to return to his office. "Once back in Bergman's office," the suit details, "Bergman, suddenly and without warning, pushed [Marcavage] down into a chair…. alarmed and afraid by Bergman's use of force, [Marcavage] told Bergman he wanted to leave. Bergman said no." Marcavage then asked to use the phone, a request that was also rebuffed. Realizing that these officials had no right to keep him against his will, Marcavage attempted to leave. The legal brief reports that the "Plaintiff then arose from the chair and was tripped to the floor by Bergman. As Plaintiff raised himself off the floor, he was forced onto a couch and held down by Bergman and Bittenbender. Plaintiff's repeated pleas to be released were refused."

Uniformed Temple Police then arrived and were ordered to handcuff Marcavage, who "was then carried out of the building and placed into a police car." The police refused to divulge to the student why he was being arrested or where he was going. "Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff was taken to the Emergency Crisis Center at Temple University Hospital against his will." The Christian student was then held in the psychiatric ward for more than three hours. Doctors examining him concluded that nothing was wrong with him and finally released him at 3:15 p.m....

From Your link...

Philadelphia, PA - The Third Circuit Court of Appeals today denied an emergency appeal by eleven Christians who allege that the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office retaliated against them for exercising their constitutional rights during a homosexual event that celebrated the “National Coming Out Day.” The Philadelphia 11, the group arrested at the coming out event dubbed “Outfest,” were charged with three (3) felonies and five (5) misdemeanors. Among the felony charges were Criminal Conspiracy, Ethnic Intimidation and Riot.

The Philadelphia 11 were placed in handcuffs when Chief James Tiano, liaison between the police department and the homosexual community, ordered the group to relocate to the outskirts of the Outfest event. A few moments prior to their arrest, the group was told by another Philadelphia police officer that because they were on a public sidewalk they were permitted to move freely through the event. The Philadelphia 11 faces a maximum penalty of forty-seven (47) years each in jail.

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