We didn’t have to say a word. Protestors in Providence today made our point more clearly than we ever could.
They simply went crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. The hatred was palplable. It was an embarrassment to their cause – I only hope the word gets out, so people can see how nuts they were.
I know one thing: That’s not how a civil rights movement behaves.
If you weren’t there, I wish you could have been. I’ve never seen such intolerance and hatred. We’ll have video online soon, so the world can see the message sent by these gay marriage protestors.
We had about 200-250 people show up for today’s rally outside the Rhode Island State House. A little while later, about 150 gay marriage protestors showed up in red shirts. Initially they came around the back of our rally and tried to shout over us.
Then they came right into our crowd (we had a permit for use of the area, as at all our rallies), getting in people’s faces and shouting at our marriage supporters. As Father Codega was trying to speak, they got up behind him on the steps, shouting him down. At one point when I was at the microphone, I was physically surrounded by three people trying to shout me down as Capitol Police did nothing.
These activists simply embarrassed themselves and their cause today. Mocking religion. Mocking children. I mean, what kind of adult goes up to a 7-year-old child and sneers, “Mommy raising you to be a good little bigot?”
The biggest disappointment was that the Capitol Police, although they tried to keep order, failed so badly in keeping the crowds apart. We had a permit protecting our First Amendment right to speak and assemble on the South Steps today, and the police simply failed to protect those rights. We’ll be writing a letter to the Governor about the lack of adequate protection provided by the Capitol Police today.
But the bigger take-away from today is the power of our message, and the enthusiasm of our people. We have a message of tolerance and respect for all, adults and children alike. Theirs is a message of intolerance and hatred: if you don’t agree with me, you’re a bigot and we’re going to either shout you down or intimidate you into silence. That’s no civil rights movement.
And the protests are drawing attention to our message, too. We had an even bigger crowd here today than in Albany yesterday, and everyone around witnessed the intolerance of our opponents. Better still, the protests draw media coverage, allowing even more to see and hear our message of tolerance and respect.
We’ll soon be on the road headed to Trenton, where we’re looking forward to an even bigger crowd on Tuesday. See you there!
- Brian
