Skip to main content

Eye Witness to Love Won Out

Jim Johnson over at Straight, Not Narrow, demonstrated with several others in protest of Focus on the Faggot's, um Family's anti-gay conference Love Won Out. Jim shares some of what happened during the demonstration, who spoke and how he felt being part of it all.
Demonstrating Against "Love Won Out" Conference

Comments

Bruce Garrett said…
I was there too. Saw Jim Johnson there, Lance again (small world) and Wayne Besen, and Steve, a friend of Mike Airhart's whose full name and blog I am ashamed to admit I have forgotten (again). I got to play chauffeur for Lance and Wayne and Steve between sessions. Lance went to D.C. Pride between sessions and after the protests...his first Pride ever.

It was a good crowd. Older mostly then the one at LIA last Monday, mostly church groups. It was very heartwarming to see all the concern in the crowd about the negative messages about gay people being discussed at Love Won Out.

Steve figured they had about 300 people inside...not a huge crowd by their standards (Lance said they got over a thousand in St. Louis). He figured the place was only three-forths full.

A new guy from LIA came out to the picket line and walked over to Lance. Said he wanted to hear firsthand from the kid about why he was so upset about his experience at LIA. Lance gave him an earful.

Got another chance to wave to John Smid as he left the conference. Alas, I had no yellow banner to wave at him this time. He looked like a man who was just trying to get out of Dodge as fast as he could.

I'll have photos up on my blog tomorrow.
9:28 PM
Peterson Toscano said…
Bruce, you really get around!

So glad you were there to be counted and to help out. Sounds like you all did an amazing job.

Can't wait to see your photos.
12:50 AM
Bruce Garrett said…
This has been one reparative therapy protesting week for me, hasn't it?

And...Steve Boese was the guy who's name I was forgetting yesterday. He was there, he was actually inside the damn thing listening to what was going on. He said it's hard to just blend into the crowd when you aren't laughing at all the jokes or standing up and applauding every anti-gay speaker. So they finally recognised him.
10:02 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Gay Husband--A Spouse Speaks Out

The other day I received the following e-mail from Susanne, a woman who found out her some years ago that her husband has same-sex attractions. I felt so moved by her words that I asked her permission to share them with you on the blog. I (recently) saw your Doin Time... and I was the one who asked about your wife during the discussion period that followed. I just read your thoughts on What About the Spouse ....and I can say, most women who find out their husbands are gay feel ALL of those things you wondered about....some in more degrees than others... When my husband was dragged out of the closet because of his irreverent, immoral, and amoral behavior that our, then, 14 and 16 year old sons had to find on our home computer, I went into the closet. I didn't know what to pray for.... Do I pray that this will go away? Do I pray that he could go back to the way things were in our family before we knew about him,? Do I pray that I could go back to the way things were? After all ,...
122 comments
Read more

The False Image of LIA

John Smid and me-Graduation 1998 (above) & John Smid today (left) By now many have heard that Tennessee's Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities determined that the "ex-gay" program, Love in Action, is operating two “unlicensed mental health supportive living facilities”. LIA has until Friday, September 23 to respond. If LIA statements in Eartha Jane Melzer's article are indicative to how the "change" program might respond, we may see LIA change right before our eyes from a clinical mental health compound into a house of praise and worship. Gerard Wellman, business administrator for Love in Action, and a former Love in Action client, said Sept. 13 that the organization has been in contact with the state but would not comment further. “As a church, we operate under a different set of rules,” Wellman said. Curious, and what rules might these be? What is even more curious is that according to LIA's site only one staff member ...
158 comments
Read more

Puzzled

Last night I performed Transfigurations-Transgressing Gender in the Bible at Imago Dei Metropolitan Community Church in Glen Mills, PA (about 15 miles outside of Philly). I had a diverse audience of about 45 people -- college students, Quakers, straight, bi, trans and lesbian, young and old. I took my time with the piece maintaining a gentle meditative pace. For the ending when I reveal the identity of the narrator, I had instructed the light tech to dim the lights. Then as the closing music swelled, I asked her to raise the lights to their brigthest intensity. With the music playing, I exited. Always (up until last night) at this point the audience applauds, I wait 5 seconds then come out to take a bow. Last night I exited and then nothing. No one clapped. They sat quietly as the music played. I stood back stage puzzled, baffled. Now what do I do? Wait? Go out anyway? And I wondered for a moment, Did they hate it? Did I confuse them? Offend them? Bore them into a coma? After what ...
18 comments
Read more