PHELPS VS GAGA

Photo by Chris Weiss

Fred Phelps and his private exclusive-to-family-members-only Westboro Baptist Church are returning to Saint Louis to kick off the New Year 2010. They have scheduled their typical protests against Gay Straight Alliances in High Schools, military service men and woman; however, this time the Phelps Klan have scheduled a protest outside the Fox Theater prior to the Lady Gaga concert. Apparently, the Phelps are seeking national exposure and we think they will get it.

On Thursday January 7th, 6:00pm Show Me No Hate welcomes the Phelps Church of Hate with a peaceful counter-protest. Hundreds of clergy, teenagers, parents, lesbians, gay, bisexual , transgendered, straight Gaga fans and supporters of peace will surround Fred Phelps with a message of peace and love.



Show Me No Hate will also bring out our giant Angel Wings. The Angel Wings received national attention when Romaine Patterson came up with the idea to counter protest the Fred Phelps family demonstrating outside Matthew Shepard's funeral. She founded Angel Action a peaceful protest in order to share a message of peace, compassion and love in a time where everyone was focused on the issue of hate.

http://www.eatromaine.com/angel_action/angelaction.html









Show Me No Hate is asking all counter-protestors to bring new or used gloves, hats, jackets, winter clothing and canned food donations to support Show Me No Hate's "10,000 Items for Charity drive." The 10,000 Items for Charity drive was born out of our recent rallies against the St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson's donation of $10,000 to help veto a new Marriage Equality law signed by the Governor of Maine. We think the Archbishop circumvented not only the rights of Maine voters, but also the Catholics in St. Louis who fund the Archdiocese.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=195910480431

Typically the Phelps family requests special protection status from the police wherever they demonstrate. The St. Louis Police might place them inside a 15 by 15 foot police safety zone which could be inside another 25 by 25 safety zone. Several Show Me No Hate member's personal experiences of counter-protesting the Phelps family guides them to believe that the police will not allow any counter-protestors within 15-25 feet of any Phelps family member.

A local gay activism group is organizing an opportunity to hold a "kiss-in booth" in front of the Phelps family.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=217703382338

An Illinois woman is organizing a Pro-Lady Gaga event.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=228057446197

Whatever you decided to do, please keep in mind Show Me No Hate only supports peaceful non-violent protests.

NON-VIOLENCE STATEMENT

December 19th, 2009

Show Me No Hate (SMNH) would like to answer recent allegations and claims of "baiting arrests for media attention," surrounding the peaceful "Separate Church and Hate Rallies," outside the Cathedral Basilica on December 13th, 2009.

"We did not; nor want to be arrested for any media attention. Our message is a simple one: We want to use our Constitutional Rights to freely assemble and speak outside the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica Noon to 1:30pm. We want to publicly address our grievances with Archbishop Carlson regarding his $10,000 donation to help strip the ability of same-sex couples seeking to use the new marriage equality law in Maine." - Ed Reggi, founder of Show Me No Hate.

Show Me No Hate Statement on Non-violence

SMNH does not support or condone violence in any form. We believe that peaceful protest and civil disobedience are powerful forces for change in a democratic society, and we defend the rights of individuals and organizations to practice them.

SMNH deplores any government-backed efforts that, under the guise of anti-terrorism, attempt to squelch public dissent and curtail civil liberties by criminalizing the constitutional right to peaceful protest. The government’s use of taxpayer dollars to spy on environmental and social justice groups is fiscally and morally irresponsible, and sets a frightening precedent for all individuals wishing to effect social change.

To make it (again) perfectly clear to anyone reading the above statement:

"We are not planning to be arrested; willfully break the law; purposely upset the parishioners or schedule any civil disobedience actions during the peaceful rallies outside the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. We expect no issues and no arrests on December 20th, 2009. If anything we will offer a lot of peace during this holiday season." - Ed Reggi, founder of Show Me No Hate.

FOURTH RALLY SUNDAY DECEMBER 20TH

December 20, 2009 marks the last "Separate Church and Hate Rally," at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. The four rallies have been organized by Show Me No Hate, Catholic Action Network, and Holy Families Committee.

The organizing organizations feel strongly that they have achieved their goals:

• To send a clear message to Archbishop Carlson that funding ballot measures that strip the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Americans is not only disappointing but a violation of their civil rights outlined in the United States Constitution.

• To educate St. Louis Catholics about the $10,000 Archbishop Carlson sent to reverse a new Maine Marriage Equality Law: a law allowing civil marriages for same-sex couples that was passed by Maine's Legislature and signed by Maine's Governor John Baldacci.

• To create a new open dialogue between LGBTQ Catholic allies and Catholics for Social Justice.

• To suggest that parishioners designate gifts specifically to homeless shelters, feeding the poor, caring for the aged and HIV/AIDS patients. Without their specific designation, the Archbishop may spend precious diocese dollars outside the St. Louis diocese.

It has come to the organizers attention that outside organizations, groups and individuals are making false claims why we are demonstrating outside the Cathedral. Make no mistake they do not represent the opinions of Show Me No Hate, Catholic Action Network or Holy Families Committee.

If you have any questions about these rallies we urge you to speak directly with the leadership behind those organizations by clicking the above links.

Thank you

ATTENTION CHIEF DAN ISOM: THIS VIDEO SAYS IT ALL

Protestors outside the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica on Sunday December 13th were met with extraordinary harassment by some of the St. Louis Police Department.

What organizers don't understand, is that for the previous two Sundays, November 29th and December 6th, the St. Louis Police Department has done an excellent job in protecting the protestors' Constitutional Rights to Assemble.

Watch the unedited videos of what happened on Sunday December 13th around 12:30pm.



After the police officer left, he returned with the following response. Apparently the 911 calls were not the real reason why protestors were to be arrested.



It is clear from this video that when you look down the line of parked cars - there was only 3 other folks near parked cars with signs - that's all. They were NOT in the street, they were in the permitted area where pedestrians can walk in and out of their cars and even stand without causing any traffic problems. The protestors were allowed to be out in the street the past two weeks with the same signs with no issue from the police.


Sunday November 29th Rally, notice where protestors are located without any issue from the police.


Sunday November 29th Rally, notice protestors are again located without any citation from the police.


On Sunday December 6th and December 13th we did exactly the same thing. We peacefully picketed the Cathedral. We moved in a circle to keep warm and to bring more attention to our message. (Notice that in the background there was a protestor near a parked car. Police passed us from 11:45am to 12:30pm and never asked this protestor to move back.)

Now watch this amateur video from the Sunday November 29th Rally. Notice how the protestors respect the steps of the church and also bleed over into the permitted area where cars can park on a 45 degree angle. Notice several protestors are behind the crowd with signs that say, "honk for equality" toward traffic.



We are not sure why the St. Louis Police decided to enforce rules that they didn't enforce the past two Sunday's outside the Cathedral. Did the Archbishop call the Police Chief and ask him to put the pressure on the demonstrators? We have good reason to believe he could have. On December Sunday December 13th, at least two Archbishop staff members were seen talking with police officers.

CATHOLICS CRY FOUL: ARCHBISHOP CARLSON USES POLICE TO INTIMIDATE

At least one dozen officers were called to the Cathedral by the Archbishop. In the background a "prisoner containment van" was parked on the church property in an effort to intimidate protestors.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday December 14th, 2009

POLICE HARASSMENT OUTSIDE ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL


SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI – DECEMBER 14, 2009 – For the past three Sunday’s SHOW ME NO HATE, HOLY FAMILIES COMMITTEE and THE CATHOLIC ACTION NETWORK have organized peaceful protests outside the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica on Lindell Boulevard. The 200 weekly protesters gather outside the Cathedral in an effort to send a clear message of disappointment of St. Louis Archbishop Carlson. Several weeks ago, local Catholics learned that Archbishop Carlson sent $10,000 of Archdiocese money to help veto a new Maine Pro-Marriage Equality law passed and signed by Governor John Baldacci. Many local Catholics and non-Catholics believe that money was needed right here in St. Louis.

45 Catholic Bishops across the United States, including Archbishop Carlson, together sent over $180,000 to the Maine’s Stand for Marriage Campaign. The Catholic Bishops donated the money during current economic hardship, high unemployment and when Catholic families are struggling to meet basic needs. This year alone, the St. Louis Archdiocese eliminated 6% of its administrative and educational office jobs and four positions at Catholic Charities.
On Sunday December 13th at 12:30pm, event co-organizer Ed Reggi noticed an enormous amount of St. Louis Police presence. “I saw at least a dozen more officers than the past two Sundays and I was especially surprised that a supervisor was present,” explained Reggi. What followed was a nothing short of police harassment by Police Sergeant Hurt. “He [Sergeant Hurt] told me I couldn’t be near my parked car and that I was causing a traffic disturbance with my signs. When I explained to the officer that we were not in the traffic and that we were entitled to peacefully assemble in the permitted area Hurt said he would arrest me using a city ordinance that doesn’t permit any signs that cause a traffic nuisance. Hurt also stated that our signs caused many 911 calls to the City Dispatcher,” explained Reggi.

Shortly after 1:00pm witnesses started to report that cars “honking” as they passed the Cathedral were pulled over by St. Louis Police. 52-year old, Nancy Tracy was one of those drivers pulled over along Lindell. “I was pulled over by an officer seething with hate. He was not very nice and he immediately said I broke the law by honking to my friends.” Tracy added, “Police don’t have the right to get involved at all. They should be there to protect both sides of a protest not to harass one side. I am a mother of three children and I support everything that was going on in front of the Cathedral. I’m not an activist but I will for sure be there next Sunday.”

Organizers are calling upon their members to show up in full force this Sunday December 20th Noon. “Our phones are ringing off the hook with angry upset Catholics. We’re calling on the entire St. Louis LGBT and straight ally community to stand together for Equality next Sunday. We will not be intimidated by the Archbishop or the St. Louis Police.”