Bigots Try to Get Arrested in D.C. Fail Miserably.
A number of radical anti-gay wingnuts showed up in D.C. on Monday to preach anti-gay twaddle from the Bible under the premise that the recently passed Matthew Shepard Act was going to lead to widespread arrests of clergy who were merely “preaching the Bible”. They came, they grandstanded, they preached the Bible, and…..not a whole lot more. Well, at least not the big publicity stunt they were likely hoping for–that being them being dragged off in handcuffs by the police so they could be martyrs for their hateful “faith”. The tables were turned on them in an amusing way, however:
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Anything other than sex “between a male and his wedded wife,” announced the Rev. Paul Blair, “is a perversion, and the Bible says that homosexuality is in fact an abomination.”No arrest was made.
The Rev. Rick Scarborough, quoting Scripture, listed “homosexual offenders” along with thieves, drunkards, swindlers and idolators as those unwelcome in the kingdom of God. “To fail to call homosexuals to repent of their sin and come to Jesus is the highest form of cowardice and sin,” he said.
No charges were filed.
“Had people listened to our plea, there would be tens of thousands of people who had not died of a dreaded disease,” contributed the Rev. Jim Garlow. “This breaks our heart to see people die of AIDS.”
No hands were cuffed. In fact, the few cops in attendance were paying no attention to the speakers, instead talking among themselves and checking their BlackBerrys.
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Instead of getting arrested, the ministers got something else: A couple of dozen gay activists, surrounding them with rainbow flags and signs announcing “Gaga for Gay Rights” and “I Am a Love Warrior.” By the end, the gay rights activists had taken over the lectern and the sound system and were holding their own news conference denouncing the ministers.
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Cass turned angrily to the AV guy. “We’re not on the clock, are we?” He turned with equal anger to Valk. “You guys gonna help us pay for the microphones?”The gay activist smiled. “God,” he said, “works in mysterious ways.”
In this case, God took the form of Chuck Fazio, from DC Podiums. Fazio was hired by the religious conservatives to provide the sound system for the event, but upon learning of their cause, he decided to donate his proceeds to the gay rights activists and to give them a chance at the microphone before shutting down the amplifiers. “I don’t want bad karma,” he explained, noting with some pride that the lectern they were using was the same one used by Borat on a recent Washington visit.
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“Preachers will soon be targeted for prosecution, and their speech will be monitored,” Scarborough warned.
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But there was no evidence of persecution at the corner of 10th and Pennsylvania. In fact, the cops at one point intervened to help the ministers, by ordering the gay rights activists to move away.
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So I guess the Matthew Shepard Act didn’t outlaw the Bible or Christianity after all. Could it be the RRRWers were…lying?
