Column: Salt & Light

Columnist: Kevin Slinger

This submission: Freedom of speech under fire

 Freedom of speech has been a long-standing sacred right in this country.  It has long been one’s right to express one’s views or opinions whether they be popular or unpopular, cheered or jeered, right, wrong or indifferent.  However, today there’s a case in Philadelphia that threatens our future potential to freely speak our minds in this nation.

You likely haven’t heard of the case as it’s been very tactfully ignored by, yet again, the mainstream news media.  The case I’m referring to has five Christians in that city facing up to 47 years in prison and a $90,000 fine for merely exercising their First Amendment right to free speech.  They are Michael Marcavage, Mark Diener, James Cruse, Dennis Green, and 17-year-old Lauren Murch (who is being charged in juvenile court) and belong to a group called Repent America. 

Repent America is a Philadelphia based evangelistic ministry whose mission is “to call a nation in rebellion toward God to repentance.”  

This story would seem much more likely to come out of communist China than from the home of the Liberty Bell. 

Repent America was staging a non-violent protest standing on public sidewalks preaching, handing out Gospel literature, and some carrying signs.  The event that they were protesting was “Outfest,” a large homosexual pride rally in Philadelphia.  They were surrounded by a militant group of homosexuals called the Pink Angels when they tried to speak and a videotape, taped by an independent videographer from San Francisco, shows the Pink Angels actually interfering with the Christians’ movement on the street, blowing whistles to drown out their message, and holding up large pink angel symbols to hide the Christians’ messages.

Repent America was present all of thirty-five minutes and the district attorney’s office there contends that they committed three felonies - inciting a riot (reading passages from the Bible relating to homosexuality), criminal conspiracy, and ethnic intimidation (saying that homosexuality is sin), as well as five misdemeanors - disorderly conduct, obstructing highways, failure to disperse, reckless endangerment, and possession of instruments of crime (Bibles, banners and a bullhorn).

I have personally viewed the above-mentioned videotape and saw nothing that would warrant any of these charges.  I saw much more violent protests at presidential campaign rallies this last year, as well as at the Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C., and rarely were any arrests made in these instances.

However, there’s a bit more to the story.  Homosexual attorneys from the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division were not only present at the event, but advised police on the scene as well.  An anonymous Justice Department employee, who spoke to WorldNetDaily, said that a number of Justice Department attorneys attended the “Outfest” event and that they are not likely to take up the cause of the criminally charged Christians who believe that officials in Philadelphia violated their civil rights.

In addition, “Outfest” organizers announced before the event that they were going to block any Christians from freely exercising their First Amendment rights at the event.

It appears that those who shout the loudest for tolerance, the gay rights movement, once again are showing their complete intolerance for anyone with an opposing view, especially Christians. 

The head of Repent America, Michael Marcavage, has also been receiving hateful messages through his voice-mail and website since the arrests.  One voice-mail message expressed the caller’s hope that Marcavage will serve time in prison and be raped there. Another, claiming to be a member of the ACLU, left an e-mail, “As a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and a Unitarian-Universalist, I am committed to your suffering the maximum penalty the law will give you.  And I will take particular delight knowing your families and loved ones will suffer too.  You know my address and my phone if you cowardly bottom-feeders want to come out to where I live and settle this.  Bring your god with you.  You will need all the help you can get.”

Preaching from the Bible is now apparently considered hate speech and is illegal in a public forum.  In fact, a prosecutor in the case even called Repent America protesters “hateful” and went on to claim that preaching from the Bible about homosexuality equates to “fighting words.”

The media has been largely silent on this case while they trumpet the First Amendment rights of people like Ward Churchill who recently compared 9/11 victims to Nazis (calling them “little Eichmanns”), called for the United States to be put “out of existence,” and stated that more “9/11s are necessary.”  What’s wrong with this picture?

Contact your elected officials and urge them to oppose efforts to enact hate crimes legislation that stifles our religious liberty and contact Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta at 202-514-2151 or AskDOJ@usdoj.gov and urge him to pursue the investigation into abuse of power and the violation of First Amendment rights in Philadelphia.  

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