Posted on 01/15/2005 3:49:21 AM PST by dirtboy
I do agree what Repent America isn't on the same level as what the gays were trying to do to the Boy Scouts - but I do think Repent America was still trying to force association. Plus, the gays aren't going to listen, but others might to reasonable protests that aren't in the faces of passerby. Most protests are best when they play to media or spectators, not to the intended target of the protest - and if gays would have gotten over-the-top against Repent America when they were outside the gathering and following the rules, it would have been much, much harder for the media to follow their usual pro-gay spin.
Yes, if they had been outside the event, the leftist spin would have been much harder, absolutley. I was thinking the same thing.
Is it their thought that the protestors were trying to provoke violence against the homosexuals?
Isn't it rather the case that one could argue that they knew there might be violence against themselves?
How does that put them in the wrong? Isn't that a bit like blaming — and, indeed, prosecuting — the rape victim for wearing a short skirt?
Dan
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The DA is using a "fighting words" argument in charging the protestors with riot, along with calling this a hate crime under Pennsylvania statutes. The history of recent protest shows that just about all violent protest is done by the left, and that almost all violence between competing protest groups is done by leftists against conservatives.
But the authorities don't care about ground truth. In Denver, the cops videotaped the Tyranny Response team instead of the gun grabbers, even though the only two incidents of assault at gun-rights protests were gun-grabbers against TRT members. And in Philly, the cops arrested Repent America members instead of jailing those who were illegally blocking their path - but do nothing when gay activists disrupt private gatherings on private property.
Judge eases curbs on protesters
Bail condition barring the "Philadelphia Four" from gay events violated rights to free speech, ruling says.
By Larry Eichel
Inquirer Staff Writer
In a case that has received national attention, a Philadelphia judge yesterday revoked a bail condition that had kept four antigay activists away from organized gay events, calling the restriction an unreasonable restraint on free speech.
She also indicated she might be inclined to dismiss the entire case.
The decision by Common Pleas Court Judge Pamela Dembe came in the case of the so-called Philadelphia Four. They are facing a variety of charges, including felonies, in connection with their behavior at the gay and lesbian community's Outfest celebration last fall.
"We cannot restrict people's right to speak or to be near those who might not wish to hear them into the future," Dembe said. The limit had been put in place last month by Municipal Court Judge William A. Meehan against the demonstrators, who are affiliated with a local group called Repent America and who say their opposition to homosexuality is Bible-based.
After viewing a 22-minute videotape of the events leading to the defendants' arrest, Dembe said: "It all amounted to annoyance on both sides, but it did not amount to criminal behavior that I can see."
Cathie Abookire, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, said that the prosecution would proceed with the case. A pretrial hearing is scheduled next month, at which Dembe is to hear arguments on dismissing the charges.
The activists, led by Michael Marcavage of Lansdowne, say they are being prosecuted for preaching the Gospel, a claim that has won them considerable support among conservative Christian groups around the country.
During the hearing yesterday, Assistant District Attorney Charles Ehrlich said that the criminal charges were based not on what the defendants said at Outfest but on their conduct.
"Mr. Marcavage's conduct is to try to incite a crowd to cause a public disturbance... whether it's from the Bible or somewhere else," Ehrlich said.
Marcavage faces felony charges of criminal conspiracy, incitement to riot, and violating the state's law against hate crimes, plus five misdemeanors.
Felony charges (but not the misdemeanors) have been dismissed against the other three, though they remain in place against a 17-year-old girl who demonstrated.
The activists were arrested after refusing a police order to move to an area farther from the center of the Outfest celebration, which covered eight blocks of Center City.
Police said they were concerned about possible violence; the activists were being followed by counterprotesters using pink insulation boards and whistles to prevent the antigay words and signs from being being seen or heard.
During the hearing, the defendants' attorney, C. Scott Shields, said the bail condition preventing his clients from getting with 100 feet of any gay event had effectively "muzzled" them, "and that's unconstitutional as a prior restraint."
In addition, Shields argued that Marcavage and the other defendants were within their rights to go to Outfest with their bullhorn because the festival was a public event held on public streets. The legal situation would have been different, he said, had the event taken place in a private venue.
Ehrlich sought to defend the restriction by citing a federal case decided last summer by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In Frye v. Kansas City, Mo., that court ruled that local police, for reasons of public safety, could restrict the whereabouts of antiabortion demonstrators on public streets.
Paraphrasing the majority opinion in that case and from several rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, Ehrlich said: "No one has the right to say whatever they want wherever they want."
Marcavage, 25, called the ruling a blessing. The other adult defendants are James Cruise, 53, of Richmond, Va.; Mark Diener, 33, of Ephrata; and Dennis Green, 38, of Petersburg, Va.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/10705185.htm
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