Counter-protesters: 'God loves gays'

[kweerwolf]

ANN ARBOR - On Saturday evening, outside the west entrance to the Michigan League, at least 200 LGBTA community members and supporters gathered in preparation for a "non-violent, peaceful, and unified counter-protest" against a baker's dozen of anti-gay protestors from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.

Phelps' posse were at the University of Michigan to protest the school's production of "The Laramie Project," a theatrical production based on the life of Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was tortured, beaten, tied to a fence and left to die because of his sexual orientation in 1998. The play was held at the Mendelssohn Theatre and put on by UofM's School of Music and Department of Theatre and Drama.

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OutLoud sang for the duration of the counter-protest, including "We Shall Overcome" (with additional verses including "We Are Not Ashamed") and "America the Beautiful."

Shortly before the arrival of the Phelps group, Gabe Javier, a coordinator with OFU, pulled out his megaphone and reminded everyone in attendance that, "Peace and non-violence are more powerful than hate." Javier directed the crowd to line up in two lines and make their way around to the front of the League. There, most lined up with linked arms, banners, glow-sticks and posters with their backs to Phelps, so that people attending the performance of the Laramie Project would be unable to see messages from the Phelps team such "God Hates You" and "Matt in Hell 7 Years."

http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=16643

Poor Freddie and his inbred clan! They just can't get no respect! ... Way to go, University of Michigan!

[MuseRider]

1. Outstanding.

Most of the time I tell people to ignore them but this is one really outstanding way to counter them. Love and peace.

[xchrom]

2. can we do that outside jerry falwells church?

university of michigan rocks!

thank you all!

[swimmernsecretsea]

3. Yesss!

Why haven't we been doing this? Wonderful.