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.
He may be "notoriously" evil...but that is no excuse for the pending persecution/prosecution for this incident. That makes as much sense as saying that the innocent Branch Davidian woman and children "deserved" to be incinerated by Reno and company just because they were "odd."
Last I checked, we still had freedom of speech in this country, unless of course you espouse Christianity or guns, or anything anti-homo or anti-liberal, in which case you will be sued out of existence, incarcerated or outright murdered.
And my muskets are always clean... ;)
I posted some on this thread. I'm sure more can be found via Google.
I probably would agree with that, if I heard both sides fairly. That's not the point. FreeRepublic has to pick its spots. Yes, it sucks when people get railroaded, even bad people. But then why don't we make Manuel Noriega our cause celebre? Or David Duke? It's because there are enough injustices against good people to occupy all of our time and money...notwithstanding the fact that they don't occupy much of our time or money at all.
For all the positive messages FreeRepublic can send, do we really want to spend much time chanting the "GOD HATES FAGS" mantra?
Worth reposting here in its entirety.
Marcavage again? Here's a repost from an earlier thread:
If any of you are thinking of backing this Marcavage guy up, please know beforehand with whom you associate. Here's an article from March of this year:
Preacher is jailed on sex charges
Against an emotional backdrop, a Philadelphia preacher convicted of trying to solicit sex from a West Chester teenager was sentenced yesterday to four to 10 years in prison.
The Rev. Craig Stephen White, a fiery street sermonizer known as "Brother Stephen," showed no reaction as Chester County Court Judge Anthony Sarcione imposed the punishment, which also included five years' probation.
"We are very pleased with Judge Sarcione's well-thought-out and appropriate sentence," said Assistant District Attorney Kimberly A. Callahan, who had requested four to eight years in prison.
Defense attorney Robert J. Donatoni said an appeal was being considered.
"Yes, it's a significant amount of time, but under the sentencing guidelines, it could have been worse," Donatoni said, calling the sentence "balanced and fair."
During the hearing, Donatoni presented witnesses who talked about the impact of White's ministry on children in North Philadelphia.
"I have nothing but positive [things] to say about Brother Stephen," said Evelyn Whitfield, a mother of five who credits White with encouraging her boys to pursue college.
White's wife, Lori, told Sarcione that her husband's imprisonment would be a hardship for her and the couple's three children, ages 5, 4, and 20 months.
Callahan presented testimony from the victim, his mother, and his aunt, who all focused on the negative impact of the crime.
"I feel degraded and feel no one has the right to rob someone of their innocence," said the victim, who is now 15 and finds himself "always looking over" his shoulder.
Speaking on his own behalf, White, 40, said he received a calling to be an evangelist at the age of 18. He said he came to Philadelphia 10 years ago because it was a spiritually needy region.
After the hearing, the victim and his family expressed relief.
"Justice was served," the victim's mother said.
Lori White left the courtroom with about a dozen supporters.
"I maintain my husband's innocence," she said.
Michael Marcavage, a character witness at White's trial, had been ejected earlier after Callahan expressed concern about an Internet site that offered a $5,000 reward for information on both the victim and prosecutors that might help free White.
Marcavage, 24, of Lansdowne, became agitated, stood up, and accused Callahan of lying. He also admitted setting up the Web site before being escorted from the courthouse.
Continued...Brother Stephen White was a notorious preacher of hatred here in the Philadelphia region long before being exposed as a pederast. That Marcavage tried to subvert the process of justice on behalf of a hate-mongering pederast speaks volumes. I hope nobody again tries to associate FreeRepublic with this filth.
Excerpt:
The boy said he gave White directions to a regular video store, turning down an offer to help White find it. Minutes later, White pulled up again, repeated that he was lost, and asked the boy if he wanted to make $20 by letting White perform oral sex on him. The boy said no and memorized the vehicle's license-plate number, which police traced to White.[snip]
Michael Marcavage, a character witness at White's trial, had been ejected earlier after Callahan expressed concern about an Internet site that offered a $5,000 reward for information on both the victim and prosecutors that might help free White.
Marcavage, 24, of Lansdowne, became agitated, stood up, and accused Callahan of lying. He also admitted setting up the Web site before being escorted from the courthouse.
Thanks for speaking out. Conservatives must no tolerate our bad people the way the left does.
You might want to email CNS News too as their article does leave this important info out of their article.
The Christian in question wasn't charged with anything primarily, and the conviction of the other Christian is questionable due to the fact that he is married with 3 children and does not have a history of pedophilia. They took the testimony of this "teenager" for the truth? The man solicited sex from him? No molestation? No physical evidence? Yet Michael Jackson walks the streets?
While some pedophiles are homosexuals, that is not true for a majority of homosexuals. If you're going to make a comment, at least make it factually accurate. Don't be like the MSM and "spin" it to fit your argument.
No, there's more to it than that, but I'm not going to argue. Look into the matter and decide for yourself whether to touch the pitch of Brother Stephen's ministry. Just don't stick a FreeRepublic logo on it.
The Christian in question wasn't charged with anything primarily, and the conviction of the other Christian is questionable
Whiplash alert! The lack of charges against one man (despite whatever he admitted) is significant, but the conviction of another man is not. As long as they claim the label of "Christian", they got nothin' but grace.
Let me put it to you another way then. No loving parent would ever knowingly allow their child to be alone with a homosexual.
Looks like mixed situation here. I'd appreciate it if people near the Philly area know anything about these people, if they are the "GodHatesFags" kind (which are likely a plant by leftists; freepers have said that and I consider it a possiblity), if they preach "hatred" and what that means, and is the charges against these two founded in truth.
If the guy is really a child molester, and the other is covering for him, it is horrible, and in a sense, they are worse than the Pink Angels because they are protesting what is really going on in their own lives.
If they are innocent, we want to know that too. It is not always easy to know the truth from an article or two. Is there a possibility the guy was set up by a lying teenager? Or is it the truth?
Truth is what is important, not agenda.
But, if the two are really a pedophile and the other was covering for him, the truth is still applicable - homosexuality is abhorrent, and free speech should still apply to those who protest it.
To follow up on DirtyHarry's question; Does opposing homosexuality from a Biblical standpoint make someone a bigot?
Homosexuals are roughly between 1.5% and 2.5% of the population. At least one third of all child molestation is by the same sex. A large proportion (maybe even majority) of homosexuals were molested as children.
Hmmm - think about it.
So getting arrested and facing 47 years in the cooler for exercising your 1st amendment rights is no cause for alarm?
How many more will be sacrificed on the alter of political correctness before we act?
And as for Brother Stephen's ministry, there's no case against him based on what evidence iv'e seen. People have been falsely imprisoned before. Don't take my word for it though, look it up.
The point is that 100% of the gay population does not commit the 1/3 of the child abuse cases that you cite. Its not even close to 100%. Acutally, it is probably less. It is true that pedophiles that commit sexual abuse to same sex victims tend to be multiple offenders vs. a statistical comparision to heterosexually oriented pedophiles. But that fact also indicates that it is a small amount of the population that is committing these acts.
Additionally, your own statistics show that 2/3 of all child abuse cases involve heterosexuals. By your own admission a majority of sexual abuse cases involving children are perpetrated by heterosexuals, rather than homosexuals.
Your own information shows that homosexual does not equal pedophilia. As much as some want to believe that that is true, it isn't; not now, or ever.
I can't sit back and let stereotypical information go uncontested when it simply is not accurate.
Was this in the video or is it slander?
Seriously, Do you think Fred Phelps represents Christianity? Well I don't! The stupidity he engages in can only help the homosexual agenda. No Christian organization that I know of will agree with or even condone what he does. That said, I believe he is a plant by the radical homosexual lobby. That's the only logical explanation for it. JMO
Do you think people should be arrested only for quoting scripture that you disagreee with or just any old scripture?
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