Posted on 12/17/2004 9:38:12 AM PST by DirtyHarryY2K
Four people who were arrested during a confrontation at an annual homosexual pride event in Philadelphia could spend up to 47 years in prison for public reading of Scripture, an attorney for a pro-family organization said on Thursday.
Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the American Family Association (AFA) Center for Law and Policy, is representing the group in court. He claims the Christian activists are being persecuted simply for exercising their constitutional rights.
"They were exercising their First Amendment rights in a public forum, and we have videotape that demonstrates that," Fahling said.
The case began on Oct. 10, when Repent America Director Michael Marcavage and 10 other persons preached and read verses from the Bible during an annual "gay pride" event known as "Outfest" in Philadelphia.
Fahling said that a video of the confrontation showed Marcavage speaking through a bullhorn while he and his supporters were "being shouted down by irate gay activists."
However, city officials told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the video did not show the start of the confrontation, when they said Marcavage tried to interrupt an onstage performance with his preaching and then disobeyed a police order to move to the perimeter of the "block party" to avoid the potential for violence.
"They were not prohibited from preaching," said Karen Brancheau, a lawyer for the district attorney's office. "A reasonable request was made to prevent a situation from becoming dangerous to their own safety, as well as the safety of the participants."
Charges were later dropped against seven people in the "Philadelphia 11" because they were not seen quoting Scripture on a videotape of the incident.
However, the remaining four individuals have been ordered to stand trial on three felony counts -- criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation and riot -- and five misdemeanor charges. If convicted, Fahling said, they could face up to 47 years in prison.
Charles Ehrlich, the city prosecutor in the case, has called the Christian protestors "hateful" and referred to preaching the Bible as using "fighting words."
Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge William Austin Meehan has banned the protestors from doing any type of evangelism within 100 yards of any "gay and lesbian event."
This past week, U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker denied emergency relief from prosecution despite video footage Fahling calls "undisputed evidence" that the group cooperated with police and were continually harassed by members of a homosexual organization called the Pink Angels.
Then on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit turned down a similar appeal.
Since the federal courts did not intervene, the last route for the group to avoid trial would be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Fahling said
"First, symbols of Christianity are removed from the public square; now, Christians are facing 47 years in prison because they preached the gospel in the public square. Stalin would be proud," Fahling concluded.
Other than indididuals choosing not to promote or pursue depraved homosexual activity, would you expect anything good to come out of the love, hatred, support and or opposition to homosexuality -an objectively disorderd condition?
Good point. Based on what we've read and seen here I agree that there's some ambiguous facts.
Have to give dirtboy credit for being Devils Advocate and demanding clear reasonable facts. That said and all things being equal, I still say the "Hate crimes" laws are ridiculous. We are ALL protected by the law against assault, violence, civil disobedience, etc.
Even if they are guilty of whatever crime. IOW short of "terroristic threats" (that these defendants haven't been charged with BTW) shouldn't they receive the same punishment as anyone else that breaks the law?
"Ah. The will of the mob overrules the right to associate."
- Yup. If the sit down rebellion at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the civil rights mass demonstrations, abortion activist marches and other similar protests taught us anything, it's the truth of that statement. The legal and political system got the message - loud and clear.
A society cannot afford to jail tens of thousands of otherwise peaceful citizens without creating anarchy and pressure groups like the gay lobby working behind the scenes know it. After all, they've worked the "mass demonstration" side of the street themselves in the past and understand perfectly well how it forces the system to change to meet whatever you demand. Believe me, these groups live in fear that Christians will begin to flex the same "mob muscle" that these groups have used with such effect themselves in the past.
Philadelphia Police Arrest Christians at a Homosexual "Outfest" Two Days After Civil Suit Filed
Excerpt:
For Immediate Release: 10/12/2004
Philadelphia, PA - Today, the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (CLP) announced that Michael Marcavage and ten other Christians were arrested on Sunday, October 10th while exercising their First Amendment rights at a homosexual event dubbed Outfest. The event was held on the public streets and sidewalks of Philadelphia and was open to the public. Just two days earlier, the CLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Marcavage, founder of Repent America, a Christian organization that calls sinners to repentance. The suit alleges that the City of Philadelphia has a policy and practice of continually denying Marcavage his constitutionally protected rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. The lawsuit also alleges that the City of Philadelphia constantly threatened, intimidated, and, as evidenced by Sundays actions, arrested him merely for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the public ways.
"You're right - religious fanatics are quite dangerous and have no place in polite society. By fanatics, I mean pushy, arrogant thugs who scream at people to repent or else - not sincere believers who live by the best tenets of their particular faith."
I am no admirer of the type of fanatics you describe. But one person's fanatic is another person's sincere believer. You use the words "arrogant thug" - you mean preachers who beat people up, or do you just mean anyone who isn't polite and quiet sitting at home?
The problem with your statement is that the world is not always polite, and to make it polite, many of us will have to be sedated, incarcerated, or submit to electro-shock therapy.
Exactly who would be deciding who is a sincere believer and who is a religious fanatic?
Is freedom of speech only for those who speak in correct grammar, measured tones, and off to the side every other Tuesday?
P.S. A lot of people thought Jesus Christ was an arrogant thug shouting - remember when he too a rope and whipped and beat people selling animals out of the temple?
By your standards, he should have been tossed in jail for being an arrogant thug.
No SPECIAL rights. Which is why I used the quotes.
Just for clarification, all of those that are married, or are catholic priests, preachers or deacons at the local church, or maintain their "heterosexuality" but still abuse children of the same sex, where do they fit into the equation?
You can play the blame game all day, but seeing abuse of children as a homosexual issue is a joke.
You can play the blame game all day, but seeing abuse of children as a homosexual issue is a joke.
One must accept the totality of truth -this is not a game for parents. -ignoring or discounting by morally relative argument the real and present disordered homosexual aspect in concert with the equally disordered and depraved homosexual agenda is a danger that has been identified and must be addressed.
Add to that the way this group distorts the picture of what happens, and I think you have a good case of bearing false witness.
You are trying to whitewash, but the fact is that although homosexuals are around 2% of the population, at least one third of child molestation is by people of the same sex - IOW, homosexuals. And many of these kids are adolescents. And a very high proportion of homosexuals were themselves molested as children and adolescents.
Your promotion of homosexuality as equivalent in morality to normal sexuality is very tiresome.
It is called obfuscation of the truth. Free Republic stands for the truth, not promotion of liberal agenda. And the "gay" agenda is part of the liberal platform.
If pointing out that all homosexuals are not pedophiles is promoting the "gay agenda", I guess I'm guilty then.
How about not denying the fact that a higher percentage of homosexuals molest kids under the age of consent than the general population? Will you agree with that statement or disagree?
I don't see how you can disagree unless you are promoting the "gay" agenda, since it's proved by research done by homosexuals as well as heterosexuals.
What we need to do is rein in the activist courts by getting rid of "lifetime appointments" in favor of forcing all appeals-level judges (even the Justices of the SCotUS, with the Congress deciding which of those 9 justices is the Chief Justice) to be ELECTED to no more that three 4-year terms.
Civil war is definitely not the way to go, as such an action may cause everybody to lose every single right if the government were to declare martial law. In that case, because the civil rioting was caused by Christians, the government would then have the power to arrest Christians just because they're Christians.
But eventually, hate speech will be illegal...and during the unholy rule of the Antichrist, hate speech will be a capital offense. Remember Winston's words in 1984 : "Thoughtcrime is death. Thoughtcrime does not entail death. Thoughtcrime IS death."
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