Posted on 08/08/2003 10:23:39 PM PDT by Lijahsbubbe
A family-values group has come out in opposition to the Philadelphia Phillies' first "Gay Community Day" planned for the baseball team's game Tuesday at Veterans Stadium.
"Families will take their children to Tuesday's baseball game for a good time, but instead they will be confronted with a 'Gay Community Day.' What type message is this giving the children attending?" asked Diane Gramley, director of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, in a statement.
"Those who engage in homosexual activity – because this is what really defines a homosexual – are using this in-your-face method to further seek acceptance of their unnatural and dangerous sexual behavior."
According to the Associated Press, three local "gay" and lesbian professional associations hope to fill part of the upper deck along the first-base line for the game against the Milwaukee Brewers. A homosexual fan will throw out the game's ceremonial first pitch.
Homosexuals were not concerned about a backlash to the event, AP reported.
"Philadelphia is a passionate city – passionate about their sports, passionate about their teams, and I'm hoping all the fans just embrace each other and be passionate about the game," Sue Gildea, a season ticket holder, told the news service.
The AFA pointed out "gays" and lesbians are willing to support the Phillies by purchasing tickets, but the baseball team continues its support for the Scouts Explorers Program, which homosexual activists succeeded in getting the local United Way to defund.
"The question here is – the Phillies have been involved with the Scouts since 1988, but didn't homosexual activists just convince the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania to withhold funds for this very 'Learning for Life' Explorer program? So the Phillies support the Scouts on one hand, but on the other endorse those who are responsible for the Scouts losing a $400,000 grant. I'd call that somewhat double-handed," commented Gramley.
The family-values group is concerned about children going to next week's game who might be exposed to homosexual behavior. It cites the case of 11 homosexuals arrested this year in Philadelphia's Strawbridge department store for engaging in public sexual activity in one of the the store's restroom. This after a 10-year-old boy and his father unsuspectingly walked into the Strawbridge restroom before Christmas and found homosexuals engaged in sex acts.
"Public homosexual activity is becoming an increasing problem across the state, and parents need to be prepared to protect their children. The Centers for Disease Control recognizes that men who have sex with men have large numbers of anonymous partners thus resulting in the rapid transmission of HIV/AIDS and other STDs. This creates a real public health risk," said Gramley.
The homosexual organizers of the event were pleased with the Phillies' receptiveness to the "gay" day.
"I didn't expect (Phillies management) to be welcoming and opening, and they have been incredible," Larry Felzer, chair of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia, one of the sponsors of the event, told AP.
The news service reports Kathy Killian, the Phillies' director of group sales, said she expected the homosexual groups to sell between 400 and 500 tickets for the game.
Don't forget the 'switch hitters'.
This joke courtesy of the Howard Stern show, btw
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