Anti-gay Catholic Group Spreads Hate, Bigotry

From a few blocks away, only a narrow red banner could be seen swaying in the breeze at the intersection of Exchange Blvd. and Broad St. At a closer glance, one could make out six to eight well-dressed men, hair gelled to the side, yielding signs reading: "Honk for traditional marriage -- 1 man + 1 woman" and "God's marriage = 1 man & 1 woman." But upon closer inspection---in the form of prying questions posed to the individuals holding the signs---a message frothed with hatred, bigotry, and a misreading of history was revealed.

At approximately 10:30 on Wednesday morning, a group of individuals representing the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP)---a Catholic group based in Hanover, PA---unfurled banners and displayed signs in downtown Rochester, encouraging those driving by to "Honk for Traditional Marriage," and distributing leaflets entitled "10 Reasons Why Homosexual 'Marriage' is Harmful and Must be Opposed." Complimenting their bellowing chants was the occasional burst of bagpipes, and a honk or two.

According to the TFP website, "Central to the TFP mission is the idea that the various crises threatening American society and the Church cannot be seen as separate and disjointed. Rather they originate from a single cause: a phenomenon called the Revolution.... The TFP was born from the idea of a Counterrevolution....." (http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/who-we-are/the-counter-revolution.html) An Indymedia correspondent was available to candidly speak with one of the demonstrators for around ten minutes.

During that time, the statements given by the demonstrator ranged from faith-based and dogmatic to illogical and absurd---sometimes all at once. At the onset of the conversation, when a woman rode past on a bicycle, pleading with the man to stop using God to promote hate, the man shouted after her, "Why don't you stop and maybe we can discuss this logically!" Within minutes, when posed with questions about legal issues that (un-wed) same-sex couples often have in hospital emergency situations---horror stories too numerous to count---the man replied, simply, "If they really cared about each other, they would not engage in homosexual acts." Such responses became the norm throughout the conversation. Other questions were replied to with "government statistics" such as "50% of homosexuals are alcoholics." The man also expressed statistics about HIV, only instead of HIV, he used the word AIDS; when corrected---when told that he was actually talking about HIV---he replied, "They're the same thing. If you get HIV, you get AIDS." He then compared homosexuality with pedophilia, because "Pedophiles also claim that their act is consensual."

Logical indeed.

The truth is, these men (note: women are not a part of this mission) were on a crusade not only to defend traditional marriage, but also to use ignorance and fear mongering tactics to trick passersby into believing that homosexuals are dangerous, ill-willed conspirators. Their signs may have been about marriage, but when pressed, it became very clear that their message was one of homophobia to the highest degree, relying on nothing but "divine law" to defend their anti-gay, pro-heteronormative stance. When pressed on the issue of Hitler's attempt to exterminate homosexuals and the striking similarities in the group's posture and views, one red-headed TFP member was quoted saying, "He didn't try to exterminate the homosexuals....but I wish he had."

By 11:40, word of this attack on our city's sensibilities had spread, and a group of queer-identified counter-demonstrators gathered across the street. Within minutes, police confronted the new group, telling them they "cannot do unreasonable noise or chants that are 'inciteful'." One officer said this (see the video coming soon) while across the street, the TFP demonstrators played bagpipes far louder than any small group of people could shout. In an attempt to avoid being "inciteful", the counter-demonstrators decided to go over and talk to the demonstrators. They stood for a few minutes in front of the TFP group, giving peace signs to passing cars and holding hands. Many cars, seeing what was happening, honked and threw the peace sign back to them.

An organizer for the TFP group quickly complained about the counter-demonstrators, and the police, in a seemingly arbitrary decision, ordered the group to move across the street---a demand to which they complied. Once across the street, the group of queers watched in disgust as police officers began shaking hands with the TFP members. As the counter-demonstrators chanted "Peace, Respect, Unity," the TFP group packed up their signs and left. According to the TFP testimony (see link below), they found their van covered in "spittle" (spit) topped off by a fresh parking ticket. God's will?

Unfortunately the TFP website does not list where the group is heading next---likely because with any notice, a counter-demonstration could easily outnumber (as did the one here in Rochester), disrupt and/or shut down their action. For more information on the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, click here: http://www.tfp.org/. To contact the group, send an email to tfp@tfp.org or call (866) 661-0272. To read up on the TFP's account of the day (it is very interesting when compared with the video posted here), please click here: http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/marriage-campaign-blog/july-22-downtown-roch....