From Bay Area Coalition on Reproductive Rights,
World Can’t Wait, Drive Out the Bush Regime ( SF Bay Area Chapter, Not
In Our Name ( Bay Area Chapter, & War Resisters League West
A Chronicle Editorial printed on Tuesday scolded The San Francisco Board of
Supervisors for being ‘intolerant’ based on the Supervisors’ resolution
condemning the Texas-based ‘Battlecry for a Generation’ rally on the steps of
City Hall. The editorial goes on to say ‘the attempt by counterprotesters and
some of the city’s elected officials to call them âfascist’ and âhateful’ was
totally at odds with the tone of the ballpark event and the approach of the Web
site.’
If the editorial board had bothered to do some investigation, it would have
found out why the Supervisors joined the diverse coalition of Bay Area
organizations in condemning the hateful rally.
The announcement from Battlecry encouraging attendance contained the
following excerpts:
From Battlecry founder Ron Luce: “I wanted to inform you of
another way that we can all make a statement for this generation to the entire
northwest region and even the entire country. We are rallying together on the
Friday afternoon of the Battlecry event in front of the San
Francisco capitol building to show America
in a very visible way that there are young people that love God and want to
build the future of our country on Biblical values. We want the world to know
this is the purpose of our gathering. We hope that your group and thousands of
other youth groups will be there.
“Please prayerfully consider coming early and gathering for this pre-event
Battlecry Rally at San Francisco’s
City Hall and have your teens participate as we pray for the northwest region,
our nation, and this generation. (These are the very city hall steps where
several months ago ***gay marriages*** were celebrated for the entire world to
see).”
Although the Chronicle does not see this rally as an act of provocation,
most of its readers would probably disagree after reading this. Most in the Bay
Area would also object to having the future of the country built on this
Christian fundamentalist group’s interpretation of Biblical values. This
country was founded by people who clearly understood the need for the
separation of Church and State. Battlecry, and other right-wing hate
groups would prefer a theocracy.
To understand how extreme Luce is, one need only look at the company he
keeps. Luce spent the last few days in Washington,
DC at a conference entitled ‘The War on
Christians and the Value Voter in 2006’. Among those scheduled to speak was
Reverend Lou Sheldon, who has advocated quarantining AIDS patients in
‘cities of refuge.’ Sheldon’s recent book has an endorsement from Jerry
Falwell, who has said ‘If you and I do not speak up now, this homosexual
steamroller will literally crush all decent men, women, and children who get in
its way…and our nation will pay a terrible price!”.
Furthermore, the Chronicle doesn’t seem to understand that the laws passed
by legislators who do the bidding of these groups will fundamentally alter the
politics of San Francisco, and
potentially, the entire country. We are seeing legislative assaults on the
LGBT community’s right to adopt, women’s rights to health care, and the
potential of the Constitution being amended to prohibit gay marriages. Given
the current composition of the Supreme Court, the Christian right is
emboldened, and will aggressively shove this agenda down our throats.
In a climate like this, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the
citizens of the Bay Area are going to have to fight this battle repeatedly. We
commend the Board of Supervisors and Assembly member Mark Leno for their
courageous stand against fascism and theocracy. It is certain that these hate
groups will be back in San Francisco
in the near future, and we will be there to counter their bigotry. Let’s hope
the Chronicle opens their eyes and joins us.
Signed,
Bay Area Coalition on Reproductive Rights
World Can’t Wait, Drive Out the Bush Regime ( SF Bay Area Chapter
Not In Our Name ( Bay Area Chapter
War Resisters League West