Shortly before noon, local news cameras and reporters showed up in anticipation of the event.
They were followed shortly thereafter with marriage supporters bearing signs supporting traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
The rally opened up with Brian Brown, the President of the National Organization for Marriage and included a handful of other speakers including Jennifer Roback-Morse of the Ruth Institute, Bob Emrich of the Maine Jeremiah Project and Charla Bansley from Concerned Women for America - all of which were well-received.
Memorable quote: "By the time these [activists of the homosexual agenda] get finished redefining marriage, there will be nothing left but a goverment registry of friendships," Dr. Morse said after laying out the differences between why peope get married and the actual purpose of marriage.
Meanwhile, after an all-out call for homosexuals and gay rights activists from around the state, Equality Maine and other national gay rights groups which have been scrambling to organize counter rallies in opposition to the Marriage Tour were only able to turn out one lesbian couple who attended the rally silently and without any disruption.
Props to them, considering their organizers are dedicated to do what they can to derail our rallies.Out of respect for them, per their request, I won't post any pictures that show their face. However, just look at the photo for a second. This coming from two members of a community that is all about 'pride'.
They didn't seem to be proud today but they were respectful and we held a short and civil conversation between the three of us. I would have enjoyed a more lengthly conversation with them but they didn't seem interested.
These two women are dressed in red - the color the same-sex marriage advocates dressed in during a press conference held by Equality Maine prior to the NOM Marriage rally. So they attended that event actively and then wanted to attend our event passively?
Caity, the women on the left, claims that they wanted to just "hear both sides" and didn't want their pictures taken. Seems to me if that was the case they would have left their red shirts home. They wear red because we wear white. So you have two red shirts in a sea of white shirts and they want to keep a low profile?
Next time you want to keep a low profile or don't want your picture taken at a public event - don't draw attention to yourselves. That way, you can actually hear both sides of the debate, as you claim you wanted, while not having your photo taken.
Let's compare that with some of the Marriage Tour supporters who attended the rally today. No hiding faces, no talk-to-the-hand's, no shame for standing up for what they believe in.Now doesn't this look more like people who are proud of what they believe in? Proud to be standing up for something. There are many more photos of proud marriage defenders just like this.
The gentlemen on the left is a big Red Sox fan, by the way.
After the rally, we packed up and had lunch in downtown Augusta at the Riverfront Barbeque and Grille. Good service and good food - we had a nice time. Tomorrow morning we are getting on the road early headed for our second stop - Manchester, New Hampshire.
Posts
43 comments:
Let's see, your tour has barely been published anywhere, you're showing up in the middle of a work day, and you've done everything but tell the LGBT community that they're the devil personified and you expect us to turn out to welcome you?
I'll check your numbers against the local newspapers, 'cause your pictures sure don't show 100 people. More like 35. And I'm very proud of who I am, a loving individual who could care less who you love as long as you love.
What you fail to mention is that only 50 people turned up for your hate rally.
What you fail to mention is the 150 who turned up to counter protest.
You also post that picture of the two girls hiding their faces just to make an invalid point.
You also fail to post a photo of the two girls holding hands in silent protest whilst your hate rally was going on.If you read the following news report you will see they wished to remain anonymous probably because of comebacks by groups like you and your supporters
http://maine.watchdog.org/2010/07/14/marriage-rallies-in-augusta/
Once again you have twisted the truth to suit
My name is Caity, and I am one of the girls hiding my face (on the left, to be exact). I went from the Equality Maine press conference to the NOM rally to listen peacefully to what the opposition had to say, because I fully believe that to have an educated conversation about marriage quality, you must know both sides of the argument.
I was approached by the NOM representative who took our photograph after clearly and repeatedly turning away from him and stating that we didn't wish our photos to be taken for our own privacy when it comes to our careers. The man snapped our photograph and then bluntly accused my friend and I of tampering with their cameras to try and get a rise out of us.
My friend and I were there peacefully, did not cause a disruption, and left peacefully only to be used as NOM propaganda, and it sickens me.
Hmmm...
Hate rally...Interesting...
I would definitely LOVE to hear what loving comments are said at LGBT rallies...and if the tone is any different.
Personally, I enjoyed being there. Despite what people say about "hate speech" (which a term that is becoming looser as the days go by), it was motivational. Although I am seventeen, I am proud to know what I stand on and that it can't be affected or effected by hate comments.
If people are so concerned how he was portraying this, perhaps you should post a link to your rally, show us how much better you think you are.
Just a question: How would members of Protect Marriage have been treated if we had attended the counter-rally?
Truly and honestly, if you want to stop hate speech, you don't respond with it.
The Christian attitude to hate speech says that we are to let God take revenge. Can you do that? Or are you too busy being offended?
Praise God that even fifty showed up! It's just as much a blessing to have those fifty, as it would to have one hundred.
"Just a question: How would members of Protect Marriage have been treated if we had attended the counter-rally?"
But why would they do that ? Why would they attend a rally for equality ?
Bit of a silly thing to say
Why so many anonymous posts? Where's the pride?
And he speaks....
Do you have anything else to say ?
Two anon posts Louis , that's not "so many"
I'm not anonymous. This is my nickname and it links to our blog ... our big gay middle-aged lesbian couple with grown kids blog with our names and location on it. You're welcome to peruse it. Contact us if you like. My partner builds very nice adirondack chairs and we'd be happy to sell you a pair so you could sit on your porch and pass the time with your neighbors in the evening like we do. All of your hype and fear-mongering about the sick and deviant lives of LGBT people and how we have no family values (or families, for that matter) is just that ... hype and fear-mongering.
BREAKING: Argentina's Senate APPROVES Marriage Equality 33-27!!!!
Looks like the world is growing up, too bad NOM hasn't.
Wow Louis, are you proud of yourself? You publicize this tour for months, and all you can get is 100 supporters (and even that number is probably inflated). And in a pathetic attempt to publicize the tour, you go and harass a lesbian couple, who weren't bothering you, and were only observing. Hey guess what? Argentina approved marriage equality, and joined the civilized world. How'd that campaign work out? Grow up, and get a real job that doesn't make money exploiting people's fear.
By the way, a lot more people turned up to the counterprotest than to your tour.
Here's more evidence of NOM's lies.
-----------------------------
At the Stand for marriage rally back in May, Brian Brown claims 250 people in attendance. His words, "'This is the new civil rights movement!' I told a crowd of 250 enthusiastically cheering marriage champions!"
http://nomblog.com/871/
----------------------
I was there, there were about 42 people, a far cry from 250. But don't take my word for it, here's what the Post had to say:
"Several dozen supporters of Jackson’s bid dressed in white and held a rally after the hearing in support of marriages between a man and a woman."
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/keith-l-alexander/dc-court-of-appeals-hears-argu.html
-------------------
If it were over a hundred, the Post would not have measured in dozens. People like Brian Brown, pushing religious beliefs while also lying set off the alarm that these people should be avoided.
When lies are all you have. You have to make them sound as good as you can. To a liar 50 people means 250.
I their world...it's the lies that matter. Not the truth.
"Bit of a silly thing to say."
Yet members of the opposing side attended our rally...
"Bit of a silly thing to say."
Yet members of the opposing side attended our rally...
"Just a question: How would members of Protect Marriage have been treated if we had attended the counter-rally?"
Good of you to ask, Nathan. There was a marriage rally in D.C. a few months back. I would guess that there were, perhaps, between 75 and 150 people attending, perhaps less (I am determining that from the noise level). Our dear Maggie happened to walk on by and sit on a park bench.
You know what happened? Nothing. In fact, she was even invited up to the stage for a peaceful debate that she declined.
Nathan, what you fail to see is that we LGBT men and women are defending ourselves, our partners, our families, our children from an onslaught of anti-gay rhetoric stemming from hostilities in the religious right.
We have signs that embrace freedom, equality, and peace. Your side holds up signs that, more often than not, tell us that God hates us or to go die of AIDS.
Passions are high on both sides, but those against marriage equality are more prone to having said passion directed at us from a position of attack.
Don't forget that LGBT men and women and allies respond, sometimes harshly, not to you but to your ideas, your words, your actions. Your side, however, is irrationally responding with rhetoric that is slanderous and damaging to us at an extremely innate, personal level - whose consequences cause harm and devastation to us whose only fault was being born in a place and time where the majority sees fit to assert control and power whose costs are the degradation of our quality of life and ability to provide for the ones we love.
-RJ
@Nathan:
What, in particular, do you find "motivational" about the message that LGBT people don't deserve equal treatment under the law?
What do you find "motivational" about this blatant tour for theocracy, not marriage?
How do you see spreading lies about LGBT people as "motivational?"
It NOM wants to "protect" marriage, they should be trying to help people with marriages in crisis and working to make sure so many people don't rush into marriage before really being ready for it.
If NOM was so proud of their stance on marriage and children, Maggie wouldn't do everything she could to hide her non-Christian, foreign husband and her history of irresponsible procreation.
Preventing people from getting legally married does not protect marriage; it simply enforces bigotry and discrimination.
According to the Boston Globe: "About 100 people showed up at a rally at noon at Capitol Park, at which speakers said it’s important to defend traditional marriage. Earlier, about 80 people showed up at a separate rally in the nearby State House in support of legalizing gay marriage."
Out of that hundred people at least 8 to 10 were National Organization for Opposite Marriage culture war mercenaries or Brian's flock of kids.
No big victory for NOM there. BUT huge losses for NOM in DC, where the people will not be voting on their fellow citizen's marriages, and in Argentina where the Catholic Church and your Mormon buds were handed a big loss and marriage equality triumphed.
And about those 200,000 anti-gay protesters in Argentina that Maggie was bragging on ... The NY Times and Washing Post say 60K tops.
Hey! Did you guys stop by and say howdy to your buds on the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices?
Drive carefully.
"Just a question: How would members of Protect Marriage have been treated if we had attended the counter-rally?"
There were supporters of NOM at the Equality Maine rally. In fact, Elaine Graham was at our rally. She stood in front of Gay and Lesbian families with their children and held signs telling them that they're "destructive lifestyle" was harming their children.
She was met with nothing, no outcry, no public demand for her to leave... and nobody took her photograph and tried to embarrass her on our websites like you've done to the lesbian couple who attended your rally.
Here's my question, Louis: If your cause is so righteous, and you are so sure of your support all across the country, how come your little bus o'"love" isn't coming west of the Mississippi? Seems to me that you've picked stops where you believe yourself assured of "victory."
Not exactly winning hearts and minds when you're preaching to the converted, are you?
So a photo of two women who clearly don't want their picture to be publicized for privacy reasons is supposed to represent all gay people who counter-protested? Riiiight. That's quite a stretch ... reminds of when the anti-groups used to go to the gay parades and festivals, find one or two people in drag or leather and publicize those photos instead of the hundreds of normally dressed gay people who attended.
National Organization for Marriage’s new facebook site, Protect Marriage: One Man, One Woman, has an interesting new message:
Protect Marriage: One Man, One Woman
Mike, in part I agree with you. It will cost a lot of money to fight this fight. However, no one is taking rights away from homosexuals. They are wanting rights that heterosexuals don’t have. There are no laws provided to heterosexuals based on their sexuality.
Next, they are “first-class citizens” like the rest of us. They are not being repressed, discriminated against. There is no and never has ever been a homosexual man hunt for them. Jews, Christians, and Blacks were hunted down and murdered. Homosexuals have nothing in common with the three.
Are they completely delusional?
They're not delusional; they're simply liars.
Protect Marriage wrote (on Facebook): There is no and never has ever been a homosexual man hunt for them. Jews, Christians, and Blacks were hunted down and murdered. Homosexuals have nothing in common with the three.
Are these people for real?
I guess they don't know how gay men were put into concentration camps (those pink triangles weren't chosen for the pretty fabric)?
Or how the term "faggot" arose -- because gay men were burned *below the feet* of the witches who were strapped to cross-like stakes?
Or how Matthew Shepard was left to die after being beaten? Ditto Gwen Araujo and countless others -- some of whom have no names because no one in their family came forward to claim the bodies after they were murdered?
Or how, according to the FBI, the largest growing group of hate crime victims is GLBT people?
Give me a break. I think it's time for *some people* to join the reality-based community.
How pathetic are these people, apparently they actually think they are better the the world because they were born heterosexual.
Pathetic, racists, bigoted bunch of liars.
And here is an article to counter all their arguments:
http://lindoro-almaviva.newsvine.com/_news/2010/06/18/4526247-on-the-arguments-against-gay-marriage
You wanna knwo why those women did not want thier picture taken? Becuase we don't have ENDA. They can loose their jobs, get kicked out of their housing for no other damned good reason other than because they are gay. It is an insidious way of keeping GLBT people in the closet. So an already very small minority, by force of law, becomes even less visible. I hale those women for showing up and wearing red. Kudo's to both of them.
Mark my words we will kick your ass in court. We are attacking your bigotry and discrimination in courts all over this country and we will WIN!
This is NOT about marriage, this is about bigotry and hatred. If this is ONLY about marriage then I assume you support ENDA, and the repeal of DADT. But you don't do you?
And yeah I am posting anonymous because of my unique last name my daughter (same last name)would be inadvertantly outed and would loose her job.
Straight Grandmother
Straight Grandmother, your granddaughter is very lucky to have you on her side.
What some people can't admit is that LGBT people are, first and foremost, people. Not monsters, not predators, not vermin, not scary ... just people.
We're not wholly defined by a sexuality we acquired by chance any more than heterosexual people are. We're complex people who are also defined by our relationships, our beliefs, our ethics, our backgrounds and a thousand other things that define human beings.
We're people with families ... birth families, extended families and families of our own. We're people who are loved and respected, not just by our partners and families and members of our own community, but by our neighbors, our co-workers, our fellow parishioners ... and on and on. We contribute to our communities. We raise children. We pay taxes. We're people of all faiths and of no faith. We're able-bodied and disabled. We come in every color, shape and size. We're artists, scientists, teachers, writers, business owners, white blue and green collar workers, doctors, lawyers, laborers, builders ... you'll find us in every single field of endeavor.
We live in their neighborhoods already and we're good neighbors. Our children go to school with their children, and their children like them. Their children like US. We're often told that we're the coolest parents their kids know and our houses are the houses they most enjoy hanging out in.
It's not for any of the sick and perverse reasons they try and tell people, it's because their children don't like how their parents treat people (including them), even if they're too afraid of their parents to tell them to their faces. It's because we listen and know that all children are okay, even if they're "different." They just seem to sense that we've learned some lessons their parents haven't had to learn ... lessons about being forgiving and accepting and compassionate. Lessons about being misunderstood or ignored or treated badly and still keeping your head up. Lessons about the power of love to overcome hate. The very same lessons that come straight out of the book their parents use to try and teach them to hate and fear us. They see the illogic and hypocrisy and twisting of that message, even if their parents don't.
Our children ... theirs and ours ... and your lucky granddaughter ... are the future of the world. We may not live to see that future, but I firmly believe it will be a better one for everyone. I know that people like me and you, Straight Grandmother, will have done our part to make it happen.
: )
Louis, old buddy old pal. I'm not anonymous. But my comment is really for Nathan. Go to an LGBT rally. You'll hear plenty about love. Look at any of the speakers from the National Equality March last October in Washington D.C. I've been to many LGBT events. I'm straight. I became an activist when Prop 8 passed. My best friend for over 15 years is a lesbian and is a wonderful person. I've met so many amazing gay people as part of this. One of our ministers is gay.
NOM is actively trying to deny gay people rights. People on their Facebook page say that homosexuals are abnormal and deviant. They make statements like there is no gay gene. I'm a molecular biologist but they won't let me post there. I posted one thing about science and was banned. (Louis, are you gonna fix that for me?)
Here it is Louis. Not all people who have an XY chromosomes are boys. Some are girls. That's right. We all start out as girls. Boys develop when a gene called SRY is activated. If it isn't activated, is mutated or is absent, then the child will be a girl or intersexed. That's just one bit.
Okay, enough for one lesson.
Louis, to your comment about anonymity, why wouldn't anyone testify at Prop 8? Please do not tell me that they feared for their safety. Perhaps they did but I simply cannot believe that is reasonable. Gay people are victims of hate crimes almost every day. They live in fear of discrimination, being marginalized, beaten. I know three gay men who have been beaten badly enough to require surgery.
If your group is right, provide the data and the witnesses. The real problem is that you know that you cannot.
Jude Stevens,
Yeah I don't see Louis coming back to defend himself here. But I'll provide the answer as to why none of their experts showed up at the Pop 8 Trail (well if you don't count Blankenhorn who testified actually mroe for our side), because they were previously deposed and cross examined by our attorney David Boies and they didn't hold up on cross. Boies decimated them. This then is their only defense, Pro Creation, Pro Creation, Pro Creation, Pro Creation, Pro Creation, Pro Creation, Pro Creation, Pro Creation. Pro Creation did not hold up at the Federal Trial in Boston for DOMA and it is not going to hold up at the Federal Trial in San Francisco either. The judges are not idiots they know that old hetrosexual people who are beyond the age of Pro Creation are allowed to marry, and further more there has never been a fertilitity test and pledge to Pro Create in order to obtain a marriage license. Therefore it is plain old vanilla discrimination. That is all they got Pro Creation and it doens't hold up in a court of law. Marriage is a Civil Right which has been decided 14 different times by the Supreme Court, just ask our attorney Ted Olson.
Repeat Louis, we will kick you ass from here to kindom come in the courts, the courts which protect non negotiable inalianable civil rights, rights declared in our Federal Constituiton which the states may NOT pass laws to abridge. Oh and your rallys are really pathetic, very underwhelming.
Straight Granmother
From Nathan. Nathan! Are you still there? This is what you said "Truly and honestly, if you want to stop hate speech, you don't respond with it."
Thank you so much for admitting that NOM practices hate speech. You are right. We should not respond with it. But it's kind of difficult not to be angry when people want to dehumanize LGBT people.
Louis,
You complain about anonymous posts here yet it is your organization that has worked to keep the names of contributors in Maine and the names of those who signed the ref71 petitions in Washington from public view....in spite of existing law. Even Scalia called your side cowards.
My second and last comment on this first tour stop blog posting.
Louis, you said in your edited blog post "They wear red because we wear white. So you have two red shirts in a sea of white shirts and they want to keep a low profile?"
However, if you look at the pictures you posted, anyone can clearly see that it wasn't a sea of white shirts. If you're going to blatantly lie in your posting, then don't post proof of that lie. It's kinda ironic that you didn't even notice that as you posted it.
YES AND HERE'S SOME PHOTOS TO PROVE HE'S LYING ABOUT THE SEA OF WHITE SHIRTS !
ENJOY !It's a public Facebook album
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045439&id=1493417247
Click on my name or copy and paste link
Louis:
You and your fellow NOM troopers give Christians a bad name. What happened to judge not?
I live in California. During the Prop 8 campaign
I saw a grown man, with a yes on 8 sign, punch a 16 year old girl in the face because she had a no on 8 sign. Is that what you represent? It appears it is.
Regardless of how many cities your bus visits - the Catholic Church is losing in heavily Catholic countries - Spain, Portugal, Argentina. The Catholic moral high ground will not be recovered by demonizing gay people. We're just waiting for the next Catholic child abuse scandal to be announced. The sad thing is, no one will be surprised.
Your tour is a failure. We look forward to the demise of NOM. It's lost already. Wait for the fat lady to sing - it may be Maggie Gallagher.
Funny how you couldn't find supporters to appear on the sides of your bus and had to use stock images from a photo agency. Not only that, the pictures include people from Europe...
But of course
All the money wasted on this nonsense could do so much good for the world. But NOM's not interested in "doing good." NOM is interested in blocking the rights of a minority to never again be viewed as second class citizens. If there is a hell, NOM is going straight to it.
Moreover, marriage equality is a done deal. Countries around Western Europe have bills in their respective governments. 70 percent of Argentinians support equality. Same attitudes across much of Europe. Here in the US I predict full marriage equality in five years. Can't happen fast enough!
Nobody that I know who supports the one-man-one-woman definition of marriage looks upon glbt people as "second-class." How come those that believe in polygamy aren't nearly as hate-filled as those that support homosexual "marriage"?
There are ex-gays (and they're horribly persecuted by gays) in this world which proves that a person's sexuality is NOT an immutable aspect of their being like skin color or gender.
I really won't ever understand the LGBT. For people who speak of so much tolerance they themselves are the most intolerant people I have ever met.
Anyway, I was at the rally, and again at the one a couple years back. A couple hundred always show up, but no matter...just remember November.
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