Police Arrest Same-Sex Marriage Supporters, including Clergy

[keepCAblue]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(05-26) 13:23 PDT San Francisco - --

Police waded into about 200 protesters blocking Van Ness Avenue near the Civic Center and began arresting people shortly after noon today, after giving the crowd more than an hour to vent their anger and sadness at the California Supreme Court's ruling upholding Proposition 8.

Officers went for clergy first, then the non-clergy protesters, moving methodically from person to person to first clap plastic ties on their wrists and lead them away to a police van. Shouts of support from the surrounding demonstrators erupted with each arrest.

"It's the right thing to do," Rabbi Sydney Mintz of Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco said of her decision to protest Prop. 8, shortly before she was led off with wrists tied.

A few minutes before noon, police in riot gear began warning the crowd it had to disperse because it was blocking a public thoroughfare. Another warning came around noon. Then at 12:25 p.m. the arrests started.

More at link...

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/BAT817R2QD.DTL

---

PLEASE REC THIS IN SUPPORT OF THOSE HEROES GETTING ARRESTED TODAY!

[Maat]

1. Thanks for standing up for justice, Rabbi!

Tell your fellow arrestees "a heartfelt thanks" for me!

:hug:

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[musette_sf]

2. OMG, what a travesty!

K&R for marriage equality

[EFerrari]

3. Last time I saw a live shot, there were about 1K people at the scene

and about a hundred blocking the intersection. That was @ 12:30 or so, an hour ago. fyi

[mitchtv]

4. I hope they all demand Jury trials

if it is anything other than a traffic infraction

[Hepburn]

5. Any demonstrations in the L.A. area? n/t

[FreeState]

8. Yes in 5 different places

http://dayofdecision.wetpaint.com/page/Los+Angeles+County?t=anon

UCLA
Get TEXTED the exact info...
http://tinyurl.com/rytgv8
Won Together Party of Protest:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=80786143235

East Los Angeles Rally
Time: 12:00 noon - 3:00pm
Place: East Los Angeles Recorder Office
4716 Cesar Chavez
Los Angeles, CA 90022

Join the West Hollywood march around 9:30pm - Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. Take Metro.

Map


Downtown Los Angeles Rally
Time: 6:00 pm on the Day of Decision

Frank Wulf of United University Church and Sandie Richards of First UMC L.A. are coordinating a rally at 5pm in Pershing Square, downtown Los Angeles on Decision Day.
email: Sandy [e-mail]



Hollywood Rally:
Time: 7:00 pm on the Day of Decision
Place: 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard
Santa Monica and San Vicente Blvd

Map:


Santa Monica Rally:
Time: Meet at 6:00 pm on the Day of Decision
for fellowship, refreshments and discussion.
Place: 235 Hill Street (corner of 2nd Street & Hill)
Santa Monica, CA

We will walk to the Santa Monica Courthouse. Please wear white if possible, or just come as you are~
March:
Time:
Place: Santa Monica Courthouse
1725 Main Street, Santa Monica



Sunday After Decision Canvass:
Join Vote for Equality as we go out in the Pasadena area and have conversations with voters about marriage on their doorsteps.

Sunday, May 31, 2009
3:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Occidental College - Johnson Building, Room 200
Eagle Rock CA 90041
Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/VFEcanvass

[Hepburn]

9. Thanks....

...I will try and get to the SM courthouse.

However, having knee problems and unless it gives a bit, will not make it.

Someone give a "shout out" for Hepburn, OK? :hug: I will be there in spirit!

[certainot]

54. isn't it about time to try the RW radio megastations? it wouldn't even have

gotten on the ballot, much less pass without that overwhelming uncontested drumbeat of lies and hate coming from them.

boycotting, picketing is free speech too.

[jkshaw]

6. The authorities have been revving up for this for many weeks.

I'm surprised they let the protesters alone for as long as they did. What I'd like to see is the arrest of the foul-mouthed fundies and Mormons and others of their ilk. Surely they could find some reason -- sheer ugliness? Hate speech? UnAmerican conduct? And what does that guy know, quoting the Bible about the highly questionable story in the Old Testament about Sodom and Gamorrah? Aside from the fact that he's pushing his own religion, there's a strong consensus among serious Bible scholars that the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah could have been caused by any number of things, most likely natural.

[FreeState]

7. You can follow this live on Twitter

here is the link to live updates:

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=from%3Amlagos%20OR%20from%3Ambstannard%20OR%20from%3ASFCityInsider

[keepCAblue]

10. Twitter: Navy vet wrapped in US flag arrested.

MBStannard: Navy vet awaiting arrest wrapped in US flag, wearing service ribbons. Calls the day a nat'l embarassment. #SFGProp8
16 minutes ago from txt · Reply · View Tweet

[DumpDavisHogg]

11. The Teabag Nazis blocked a public thoroughfare in Cincinnati, yet they didn't get arrested (n/t)

[sui generis]

12. good - my heart aches, wish I was there

I look FABULOUS, even in handcuffs. Bitches.

[ThatsMyBarack]

24. Me, too!

:hi:

[Chovexani]

51. As Claree said in Steel Magnolias, darlin'

The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize. ;)

:hug:

[xchrom]

13. recommend

[paulsby]

14. i support the protestors and the cops

sounds like both are doing the right thing.

the protestors are makign their voices heard, and committing a minor crime (blocking a public thoroughfare) to make an important point

and the cops are doing their jobs too.

the cops can't selectively not arrest people because they agree (or disagree) with their underlying cause.

[keepCAblue]

15. Some of the protesters are cops..

While some police officers kept watch from the outside of the protest circle, about 10 officers were positioned inside. Each of those 10 officers are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, said Lt. Lea Militello of the Tenderloin Station.

"Absolutely it affects me. I got married in October," she said.

[paulsby]

16. same happened during WTO

our dept. specifically authorized use of comp or vacation time for those officers that chose to engage in protests, while many others engaged in riot control, on the other side of the line.

cops do not lose their right to peaceful protest.

[keepCAblue]

17. Their actions are heroic, as are those of the other protesters and clergy members. n/t

[nichomachus]

19. Not so much

The cops are often very selective about who they allow to do what.

For example, as someone else pointed out, they let the teabagger idiots block streets without arresting them.

I remember once in Boston, they stopped the Gay Pride parade about every three seconds because they had to let crossing traffic by so it wouldn't be held up. It totally demolished the impact of the parade. Because of the huge gaps, a lot of spectators thought it had ended before it had.

Two weeks later, the Shiners were in town for a convention -- and the cops blocked the same street at every intersection for the duration of the parade. You know, the Shiners are the group that holds parades mocking Muslims. Anyway, the cops blocked the same street and let the entire parade pass uninterrupted for almost an hour and a half -- and screw the cross traffic.

The same thing happens here in Palm Springs. When the right-wing Christian church hold services, the cops show up with cruisers, orange cones, whatever and give the Christians first priority, leaving motorists to fend for themselves. When it's time for the AIDS walk, the cops wouldn't lift a finger to help and they hold up the walk by making people wait for a crossing light at every intersection.

The cops are very very selective.

[paulsby]

20. and if there is any evidence that THESE cops

are being selective, let me know.

generally speaking, when it comes to protest arrest situations, the decision does NOT come from the line cops. it comes from the administrators who maintain surveillance positions on scene.

that's how it worked during n30, WTO, and most protests i have seen.

as for your palm springs example, do you know for a fact that the various church groups and the aids walk are equally diligent in applying for permittage etc? i don't, so i reserve opinion since i don't know the facts.

there is pretty strong evidence in the case here (see: OP) that the cops gave the protestors AMPLE time to disperse before making arrests, so i see exactly zero evidence of bias.

do you have any?

[nichomachus]

22. I do know that

a large number of cops are members of the fundie church . . . and many are very anti-gay.

And, yes, we have a very active AIDS organization here which dots all the i's and crosses all the t's for these sorts of things.

And I know cops very well -- I know exactly how they act.

[paulsby]

25. i know them very well too

and how they act

and i can tell you that the SFPD is about as GLBT friendly as an agency could be.

regardless, saying you know how cops "are" and therefore you can stereotype THESE cops is just as silly as saying "i know how gays are" or "I know how straights are" etc.

these are individuals, and operating under the SFPD structure, which is hardly a homophobic organization.

so, again, i suggest you have no EVIDENCE that there is any mal or misfeasance on the part of the cops in this incident.

so, painting them as automatically guilty based on their occupation is just another form of prejudice.

i'll pass on that.

[pink-o]

32. Thank you! I know a lot of SF PD as well, and they're as different as any individual.

Some are homophobes, many are gay themselves. Stereotyping police is what we used to do in the 70s, I should hope we'd have more maturity and nuance by now.

[chascarrillo]

56. You know as well as I that you've arrested people for jaywalking during protests.

One step off the curb, and folks have been cuffed here in Seattle. So stuff it.

[Hardrada]

42. I think you mean the Shriners. Yeas, I know who they are.

They used to be in parades here but I always thought they were harmless.

[awoke_in_2003]

44. I may not be big on fraternal orders...

but any child who goes to their burn centers are treated and healed- whether they can pay or not. They do a lot of good work.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. so people aren't allowed to protest these days?

who ordered the police?

[jberryhill]

30. Probably Nobody "Ordered The Police"

When a crowd of people for whatever reason is blocking an intersection, it is likely the police will clear the intersection on their own, and arrest anyone refusing to clear the intersection.

People are allowed to protest. People are not allowed to block traffic. There is a long tradition of accepting the penalty of things like blocking traffic as the price of doing things like blocking traffic in order to make a point.

[paulsby]

31. yes, and not only that

but according to the article, the police gave ample time and ample warning before making arrests.

iow, i see no evidence of even officiousness, let alone illegality or malfeasance on part of the cops.

[ManiacJoe]

41. Or get a permit to block the street.

Fill out the form, pay the fee.

[awoke_in_2003]

45. I hear what you are saying...

and I understand that the police have to do what they do- but if you need a permit to protest it is no longer a right, it is a privilege.

[jberryhill]

49. Not at all....

Permits relate to permissible time, place and manner restrictions which longstanding First Amendment precedent allows.

What the government CANNOT do is to deny a permit based on the purpose for which it is requested.

And, what we are talking about here is the closure of a public street. You can do that, but you have to get a parade permit, so that traffic can be re-routed, and the safety of all can be protected so that they CAN exercise their rights. Nobody on the sidewalk was cited for blocking traffic.

[grantcart]

50. They purposely stayed in the intersection in order to get arrested

Many of the officers in the SF protest areas were gay officers.

[katty]

21. thanks for standing UP-while they try to make you stand down!!

[imdjh]

23. In all the years in which my mother's neurotic obsession with her stomach annoyed me...

... I never developed the habit of complaining that something emotionally upsetting was making me physically ill. Even on the death of my favorite person in the whole world, I cried so hard I could barely breathe, but I didn't get physically ill.

Today, I don't feel so good. I don't understand why it has taken this long to affect me this way.

[shadowknows69]

26. Gotta silence those pro-gay men and women of God quickly

Shoots holes in the whole thing doesn't it?

[William769]

27. If they want civil disobedience, I say we (meaning me & the GLBT community & our supporters)

Give it to them.

[myrna minx]

28. K&R n/t

[zbdent]

29. so, the Mormon church has hired the police as their "security" force, eh?

[jberryhill]

33. Ummm... More Like The City Of SF Hired Police To Keep Intersections Clear

...among other things.

[noamnety]

34. The drivers trying to get across town

could have simply used other streets instead of that intersection - you know, streets that were equally good. Separate, but equal.

[awoke_in_2003]

46. Very nicely played. nt

[Truth2Tell]

35. Officers went for clergy first. nt

[Hissyspit]

36. ARREST & PROTEST PHOTO THREAD HERE:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5725892&mesg_id=5725892

[awoke_in_2003]

47. good to see...

no pepper spray or tazers involved.

[Infinite Hope]

37. That's a loose usage of the word hero. n/t

[keepCAblue]

38. When was the last time you went to jail to protest injustice?

I know...Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and all the others who put their lives on hold and at risk by going to jail to fight injustice weren't heroes either.

[Infinite Hope]

39. Because they did something I haven't, they are heroes? That's not the definition of a hero. n/t

[keepCAblue]

40. Merriam-Webster def of "hero": One who shows great courage

the people who put themselves on the ground, subject to police in riot gear, legal repercussions, arrest, physical confinement and public harassment

SHOWED GREAT COURAGE. If that is something you can't understand, due either to stupidity or bigotry, than that is your problem.

[awoke_in_2003]

48. don't forget...

the impact an arrest could have on current or future jobs- which affect livelyhood.

[Infinite Hope]

59. It depends on your definition of "great." To do ones paid job duties is doing their duty, but

doesn't need to be sensationalized as heroism. That being said, there certainly were *some* who went above and beyond (which is more the intent of the word hero).

[Q3JR4]

43. If I were in charge,

hypothetically speaking of course, I would shut down a major street in California at least once a week from, say, January of 2010 until the election just to keep the outrage fresh on people's minds.

Not that I'm advocating anything or anything.

Q3JR4.
Would never advocate anything like that.

[farmboxer]

52. Police should leave them alone, they are American citizens

Why can't the police go after criminals instead? This looks like the old days of Martin Luther King. It's so damned unjust.

[Lerkfish]

53. oddly enough, there appears to be public funds available to arrest protestors

things that make you go "hmmmm"

Ahnold can eliminate welfare, but jackboots have to stay.

[cooolandrew]

57. Let's try not to be too hard on Californians there are many places where views don't gel with ours >

but at the same time have been good blue states. It's more on us to raise awareness on the issue that point fingers just not the smart tactic to take. Cali folk are great by me, I may differ on this issue but lots of good folks down that way.

[ColesCountyDem]

58. While I applaud the protester's courage, I also support what the police did.

I support gay marriage for every one, every where, period. It's absolutely ridiculous in this day and age to let fundamentalist religious principles dictate who can and cannot enter into what is no more than a state-sanctioned contract. That said...

Under the First Amendment to the US Constitution, the right to peaceably assemble and protest or petition for a redress of grievances do NOT include the right to break even simple traffic laws, absent a permit to do so. The governmental body responsible for issuing the permit may impose reasonable restrictions (time, place, length of the parade route, etc.) on those seeking the permit, provided that the restrictions are not arbitrary. They may not deny a permit simply because they do not agree with the protesters' purpose. There is abundant legal precedent regarding these issues and the matter is generally considered 'well settled' law.

:hi: