For 11 years, Brian and Doris Johnson have passed out free Bibles at the festival.

This year, they were not allowed to have a booth. Pride paid to rent the whole park and that gave them the right to choose which vendors they allowed in.

Seems cut and dry, they were trespassing. They can't hand out bibles in my house, either.

St_Francis_P: For 11 years, Brian and Doris Johnson have passed out free Bibles at the festival.

This year, they were not allowed to have a booth. Pride paid to rent the whole park and that gave them the right to choose which vendors they allowed in.

Seems cut and dry, they were trespassing. They can't hand out bibles in my house, either.

What he said.

Um, no, subby. They were arrested for trespassing.

The Johnsons said they are born-again Christians and they believe homosexuality is a sin. So, they went to the Gay Pride festival to make sure all the gays know that God things they're evil.

Unfortunatley, being an asshat in the US is very legal.

I'd love to see a bunch of queens interupt their Mass preaching how to be FABULOUS!

Infinite Monkeys In Front Of A Computer: I'd love to see a bunch of queens interupt their Mass preaching how to be FABULOUS!

*snrrk*

1+

Infinite Monkeys In Front Of A Computer: I'd love to see a bunch of queens interupt their Mass preaching how to be FABULOUS!

Oh snap!

Doctor Funkenstein: St_Francis_P: For 11 years, Brian and Doris Johnson have passed out free Bibles at the festival.

This year, they were not allowed to have a booth. Pride paid to rent the whole park and that gave them the right to choose which vendors they allowed in.

Seems cut and dry, they were trespassing. They can't hand out bibles in my house, either.

What he said.

Your living room is not a public park. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. It seems they were kept out of a public park -albeit one rented by some group- based upon their beliefs.

The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

This will be an interesting case.

feckingmorons: Doctor Funkenstein: St_Francis_P: For 11 years, Brian and Doris Johnson have passed out free Bibles at the festival.

This year, they were not allowed to have a booth. Pride paid to rent the whole park and that gave them the right to choose which vendors they allowed in.

Seems cut and dry, they were trespassing. They can't hand out bibles in my house, either.

What he said.

Your living room is not a public park. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. It seems they were kept out of a public park -albeit one rented by some group- based upon their beliefs.

The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

This will be an interesting case.

Considering how 'free speech zones' was allowed, I doubt this case would make sense.

feckingmorons: The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

If they allow a group to designate boundaries (ie: put up fencing, charge admission, etc.) then these groups have been given the right (and the responsibility) to control the actions of those who enter the property.

While the Constitution may protect your beliefs, it doesn't protect one from the consequences of acting out to service those beliefs.

I have had people literally step in front of me and yell at me in the face for being in a gay pride festival. I have received spittle upon my face by these assholes.

I reserve the right to punch you in the farking neck when you confront me like that.

ecmoRandomNumbers: I have had people literally step in front of me and yell at me in the face for being in a gay pride festival. I have received spittle upon my face by these assholes.

I reserve the right to punch you in the farking neck when you confront me like that.

Does the neck punching only apply to gay pride festivals or any stepping, yelling, or spittleing in general?

/Doesn't want to be neck punched

ecmoRandomNumbers: I have had people literally step in front of me and yell at me in the face for being in a gay pride festival. I have received spittle upon my face by these assholes.

I reserve the right to punch you in the farking neck when you confront me like that.

I wonder if one can sue for assault for spitting...

bogey: ecmoRandomNumbers: I have had people literally step in front of me and yell at me in the face for being in a gay pride festival. I have received spittle upon my face by these assholes.

I reserve the right to punch you in the farking neck when you confront me like that.

Does the neck punching only apply to gay pride festivals or any stepping, yelling, or spittleing in general?

/Doesn't want to be neck punched

I think general, don't you?

I don't care if you're gay or straight -- when somebody gets in your face and spits at you, you have the right to collapse a thorax. Don't spit at me with your religious crap.

ecmoRandomNumbers: I think general, don't you?

You're probably right, but now I feel bad for missing out on neck punching all the people who have been rude to me over the years. On a happier note, I'm pretty sure my chins will protect me from all but the most ferocious neck punches.

The Pride Festival rented the park and had the right to control access to it for that time. If the people handing out Bibles were asked to leave and refused, they were trespassing.

Maybe it would be more clear if, instead of a Gay Pride Festival, a large wedding reception had rented the park and, instead of Christians handing out bibles, the bride's ex boyfriend showed up uninvited and politely told everyone who ventured within earshot what a skank she was.

Mardi Gras every year has protestors and born-agains acting like judgmental jerkoffs. It's fabulous.

feckingmorons: The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

If you're a gay rights group, then the answer is 'yes'. If you're the Boy Scouts, you might have to fight it all the way to SCOTUS to get an answer to that question.

As an aside, locking these people up only encourages them all the more. Locking them up for preaching the bible like giving a heroin addict the key to the county lock up evidence room and telling them to go crazy for a couple/few days.

CrispFlows: ecmoRandomNumbers: I have had people literally step in front of me and yell at me in the face for being in a gay pride festival. I have received spittle upon my face by these assholes.

I reserve the right to punch you in the farking neck when you confront me like that.

I wonder if one can sue for assault for spitting...

Spitting is a battery. It is both a crime and a tort.

Infinite Monkeys In Front Of A Computer: I'd love to see a bunch of queens interupt their Mass preaching how to be FABULOUS!

They are born-again Christians, and most probably Roman Catholic. Catholics are the only one that have Mass.

A Church is not a public park. So trespass in a church is much different than trespass in a public park.

If this were a bible thumper festival they probably would have invited gay people to their services. Of course they would tell them how they will burn in hell, so I doubt many would show up. I doubt many people wanted the bibles either so it seems like a waste of time, but who am I to tell them what to do with their time.

feck.... most probably not R.C

Weaver95: If you're a gay rights group, then the answer is 'yes'. If you're the Boy Scouts, you might have to fight it all the way to SCOTUS to get an answer to that question.

Do they have that policy anywhere in writing ? Seems like it'd be tricky to make sure that people always enforce it correctly.

Mordant: Weaver95: If you're a gay rights group, then the answer is 'yes'. If you're the Boy Scouts, you might have to fight it all the way to SCOTUS to get an answer to that question.

Do they have that policy anywhere in writing ? Seems like it'd be tricky to make sure that people always enforce it correctly.

Depends on the court system. near as I can tell, it's all based on whim and circumstance.

Just seems risky since it would count on a majority of people being sympathetic to gays instead of scouts. That may be true on Fark, but at a national level I doubt you could pull it off.

Mordant: Just seems risky since it would count on a majority of people being sympathetic to gays instead of scouts. That may be true on Fark, but at a national level I doubt you could pull it off.

Nah - all you have to do is bribe...er donate, to the right judges and you can pretty much get whatever ruling you want. That's how RIAA works after all.

Well, if they felt they had the right to ignore the intentions of the festival organizers and march on it anyway, I'm sure they would have no problem with me setting the Bibles on fire and throwing the spins at them.

feckingmorons: The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

I don't think they were excluded because of their beliefs though, it was because of their actions. If they'd showed up but hadn't started preaching I don't think there would have been a problem.

Does anyone else suspect that the men handing out these Bibles wrote their phone numbers on the inside covers?

feckingmorons: Your living room is not a public park. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. It seems they were kept out of a public park -albeit one rented by some group- based upon their beliefs.

The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

This will be an interesting case.

OK, let's turn it around. The church has rented the park for a picnic or a field day or some youth rally.....Whatever, and a large group of radical gays show up and decide to "recruit" people much like the bible thumpers were doing. What do you suppose the reaction would be?

ecmoRandomNumbers: I don't care if you're gay or straight -- when somebody gets in your face and spits at you, you have the right to collapse a thorax. Don't spit at me with your religious crap.

A bug spat on you?

In other news, Man On Pink Corner thrown out of local First Baptist Church for handing out copies of God Is Not Great and The Origin of Species. Outraged Fark thread in 3...2...1...

Kyosuke: feckingmorons: The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

If they allow a group to designate boundaries (ie: put up fencing, charge admission, etc.) then these groups have been given the right (and the responsibility) to control the actions of those who enter the property.

While the Constitution may protect your beliefs, it doesn't protect one from the consequences of acting out to service those beliefs.

Have you actually read the Civil Rights Act?

I wonder how this would be playing out on Fark if a bunch of fundie Christians stopped black people from passing through a public area they were having a festival in.

Public land != private, no matter who is "using" it. The asshats should not be arrested for merely being on public property.

Marla Singer's Laundry: ecmoRandomNumbers: I don't care if you're gay or straight -- when somebody gets in your face and spits at you, you have the right to collapse a thorax. Don't spit at me with your religious crap.

A bug spat on you?

HA I just caught that.

Klingon Penis: Does anyone else suspect that the men handing out these Bibles wrote their phone numbers on the inside covers?

Makes a lot more sense than the reason they claim they do it.

feckingmorons: A Church is not a public park. So trespass in a church is much different than trespass in a public park.

It shouldn't be. The church operates tax-free, so why do they get to discriminate?

Klingon Penis: Does anyone else suspect that the men handing out these Bibles wrote their phone numbers on the inside covers?

"If you want to get all Jeremiah 23:14 with me, give a jingle.

P.S. You're going to burn in the flames of eternal damnation"

Marla Singer's Laundry: ecmoRandomNumbers: I don't care if you're gay or straight -- when somebody gets in your face and spits at you, you have the right to collapse a thorax. Don't spit at me with your religious crap.

A bug spat on you?

"In mammals, the thorax is the region of the body formed by the sternum, the thoracic vertebrae and the ribs. It extends from the neck to the diaphragm, and does not include the upper limbs. The heart and the lungs reside in the thoracic cavity, as well as many blood vessels." - Wikipedia

lajimi: feckingmorons: Your living room is not a public park. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. It seems they were kept out of a public park -albeit one rented by some group- based upon their beliefs.

The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

This will be an interesting case.

OK, let's turn it around. The church has rented the park for a picnic or a field day or some youth rally.....Whatever, and a large group of radical gays show up and decide to "recruit" people much like the bible thumpers were doing. What do you suppose the reaction would be?

As long as they weren't actively disturbing the festivities they're welcome at my church's picnic. Especially if it was only 3 people like in the article.....hardly a large group.

lajimi: nd a large group of radical gays show up and decide to "recruit" people

Three people handing out Bibles is a large group?

There is no one more intolerant that those screaming the loudest for tolerance.

Good.

Good. I hope they beat them as part of the bargain.

/Not really
//Maybe a little

The question is, would they have been arrested had they been passing out condoms? I'm guessing not. Certainly seems like selective prosecution.

Man On Pink Corner: feckingmorons: A Church is not a public park. So trespass in a church is much different than trespass in a public park.

It shouldn't be. The church operates tax-free, so why do they get to discriminate?

a) A church can't discriminate
b) Tax-free status does not imply public owernship

deltabourne: The asshats should not be arrested for merely being on public property.

They weren't arrested for "merely being on public property." It wasn't as simplistic as you make it sound.

Klingon Penis: Does anyone else suspect that the men handing out these Bibles wrote their phone numbers on the inside covers?

Best Western 12:00 drapes open show good gay time

.

This is clearly part of the homogay conspiracy to keep the poor born-again christians down.

ipeeintheshower: The question is, would they have been arrested had they been passing out condoms?

They weren't arrested for passing out anything. They were arrested for trespassing. They were asked to leave by those who had authority to ask, and they chose not to leave.

\because you don't get free sympathy if you leave without causing an incident.

lajimi: feckingmorons: Your living room is not a public park. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. It seems they were kept out of a public park -albeit one rented by some group- based upon their beliefs.

The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

This will be an interesting case.

OK, let's turn it around. The church has rented the park for a picnic or a field day or some youth rally.....Whatever, and a large group of radical gays show up and decide to "recruit" people much like the bible thumpers were doing. What do you suppose the reaction would be?

They would be just as wrong. In a local park here where I live, a church rents it regularly to throw revivals. When my niece tried to play on the inflatables that the church set up, we were told that if we weren't members of the church then we needed to leave. The cop there agreed. If the church can tell us to leave, then these guys can tell the churchies(or anyone that they want, for that matter) to vacate the premises.....

//Equality, what a concept...
////Slashies for Jebus

lajimi: feckingmorons: Your living room is not a public park. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out. It seems they were kept out of a public park -albeit one rented by some group- based upon their beliefs.

The quetsion is can the city rent to a group that will exclude others based upon Constitutionally protected beliefs.

This will be an interesting case.

OK, let's turn it around. The church has rented the park for a picnic or a field day or some youth rally.....Whatever, and a large group of radical gays show up and decide to "recruit" people much like the bible thumpers were doing. What do you suppose the reaction would be?


hahahahahaha
recruit
like it's a farking job interview
hahahahahahahahahaha

deltabourne: a) A church can't discriminate

What are you smoking? Churches discriminate all the time.