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Mount Hope Church sues gay rights group

Bash Back! Lancing at Mount Hope Church

Bash Back! Lancing at Mount Hope Church

An outspoken gay rights group called, Bash Back! staged a demonstration at Mount Hope Church in Michigan. According to the article, “Mount Hope Church has filed a federal lawsuit against a group of protesters who disrupted a Sunday morning service Nov. 9 with shouts, same-sex kissing, fliers and a banner that proclaimed: “It’s okay to be gay.”

Bash Back! is a national organization that has staged similar protests at anti-gay churches in Boston and Seattle and other cities throughout the country.

No criminal charges were filed as a result of the November 9 protest. Here is a post from the Bash Back website http://bashbacknews.wordpress.com/:

“The work of devoted Bash Back!ers and allies determined that this morning’s hysteria is the result of the Alliance Defense Fund, a notorious anti-womyn, anti-queer, racist organization. The ADF decided to sue Bash Back!, Bash Back! Lansing and individuals because the authorities would not file a single criminal complaint regarding an action at the Mount Hope Church in Lansing last fall. But that’s not all! Those pesky evange-fascists are trying to identify and out up to 20 other people involved with Bash Back! in the hopes that criminal charges will be placed against them. Fourteen people and 1-20 Jesse “John” Does are named on the complaint.

You can find the ADF press release on their website.
*Warning this Site is an overt manifestion of THE Patriarchy. It may be offensive and enraging*
www.alliancedefensefund.org

Bash Back! and radical transfolk/queers cannot and will not be intimidated. Some of us face life and death on a daily basis. This lawsuit aint shit.

BB! News will be setting up an account to raise funds in the near future. Lets fill our pocket books and resist this suit.

Attached to this posting is a copy of the complaint so the entire world can see that it is riddled with inaccuracies and out-right lies.

Disclaimer: This Lawsuit does NOT respect the chosen identities of the people named. Names, gender pronouns, and identities were purposely disrespected by the complaint. Please keep this in mind when reading and discussing the lawsuit.

That’s Some Bull Shit!
Bash Back! News

Here is a copy of the complaint.
http://twincities.indymedia.org/files/MtHopeComplaint-red.pdf

———————————————————————————-

This is the first time I have ever heard of this group. Their tactics seem law abiding, but I wonder how effective these actions are at moving support towards equality. What do you think?

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May 15th, 2009 | Tags: , , | Category: LGBT, LGBT Equality, Same-sex marriage, civil rights, gay marraige, gay rights, marriage eqaulity, politics, religion
  • Yes, it's an interesting story. Just not interesting in a positive way in my opinion. We have two groups, both rather vicious and extreme in contention. We also have a lot more moderate supporters of both camps.

    The potential for escalation and reprisal is very real and more than a little scary.
  • Well violence is never a solution. Nevertheless it is an interesting story.
  • There were no arrests because it would be a matter of verbal complaint only. Bash Back left before the police arrived. That was clear from the report that they pulled the fire alarms as they left.

    I don't completely trust the plaintiffs either, which is why I added the caveat to my comment. On the other hand, I've heard of Bash Back before and they're developing a bad reputation that matches what they're currently accused of.
  • I have a hard time trusting the group filing the lawsuit because they have such a long tradition of trashing gay people. If the kids were brandishing weapons don't you think the police would have arrested someone? I think it is very telling that there were no arrests.
  • Disrupting the service itself is grounds for the lawsuit. There is also the additional accusation of various items / weapons being brandished in a threatening manner.

    BTW: In most states "brandishing in a threatening manner" is legally in the eye of the beholder.

    As I said, "Bash Back’s actions overstepped the bounds of legality – assuming that the specifics of the complaint are accurate."

    Any group who preaches violence and likes to put pictures of themselves up on their site wearing masks like Islamists is deliberating trying to sow fear - i.e. terrorism. Their tactics so far haven't seemed to include direct physical violence, but it certainly looks like they're working themselves up to it.
  • Really? Don't they have the First Amendment right to protest an organization that makes money at the expense of their liberties? Since when did same sex couples kissing in a church verge on "terrorism?" Wasn't this just a profoundly important act of theater?
  • Having read the complaint, I'd say that Bash Back's actions overstepped the bounds of legality - assuming that the specifics of the complaint are accurate. Of course Bash Back's website seems to admit to those specifics...

    They are exhibiting what has to be described as precursor behavior to actual violence and terrorism. Hopefully they'll be locked up soon before they do harm to anyone.

    As to how "these actions are at moving support towards equality," I'd say not very good. Radicalism and terrorism only get the rest of the LGBT community labeled as such as well.

    You might want to consider the fact that Americans are not as tolerant as Israelis. If Bash Back is thought of in manner similar to Hamas, we won't worry about minimizing collateral damage.
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