Some Christians Never Give Up...lol

[vinnieponte]

NOW REMMEMBER EVERYONE, I'M SAYINS "SOME". THAT WAY I WONT HAVE EVERYONE FREAKING OUT AND CRYING OVER ME PUTTING CHRISTIANS IN THE TITLE.

Philadelphia Judge Clears Anti-Gay Group of Hate Crimes

2 hours, 33 minutes ago U.S. National - Reuters


By Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A judge dismissed charges on Thursday against four anti-gay Christians accused of violating hate crime laws when protesting at a gay street festival, saying free speech rights allowed them to do so.

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe said the four members of "Repent America" exercised their right to free speech when they refused to move away from the city's gay pride "Outfest" last October.

The protesters used bullhorns and placards to warn festival participants that they would suffer eternal damnation for their homosexual behavior. After a noisy, nonviolent confrontation with gay people, they were charged with incitement to riot, and violating a 1982 Pennsylvania law that bars inciting hatred on the basis of race, color, religion, nationality or sexuality.

"You cannot stifle free speech because you don't want to hear it," Dembe said. "Many of these messages may be repulsive and offensive but people are allowed to make them.

The right to free speech extends to neo-Nazis marching in towns where Holocaust survivors live and to the Ku Klux Klan, the judge told a packed courtroom.

The leader of the group, Michael Marcavage, 25, said after the ruling that he felt vindicated.

"It's a good thing to know that there are still some judges who respect the First Amendment," he said, adding that his group plans to protest another local gay rally on May 1.

He then quoted a passage from Leviticus saying that homosexuals "should surely be put to death." But he denied a claim by the Philadelphia Gay Pride organization that he had suggested gays should be killed.

Assistant District Attorney Charles Ehrlich said after the ruling that free speech was not the most important issue in the case. The defendants had been charged because of their disruption of the gay event and for their conduct, not because of their statements, he said. Ehrlich said he would decide within 30 days whether to appeal.

The other defendants were Dennis Green, 38, of Petersburg, Virginia; James Cruise, 53, of Richmond, Virginia; and Mark Diener, 33, of Philadelphia. Eleven protesters were initially charged but charges were dropped against six. After the ruling, charges against the remaining defendant, a 17-year-old, will be dropped, defense attorney Scott Shields said.