WELCOME...

   ¶ This is a peaceful, non-violent demonstration. Let's maintain our cool during this protest! As we've said many, many times before, don't feed the fundies! If you join our demonstration, please avoid situations and confrontations where tempers can get out of hand and possibly lead to senseless behavior. That doesn't accomplish anything positive. Remember, we're protesting in order to make a coherent, positive public statement about tolerance, the need to oppose religious bigotry, and defend state-church separation against those who would use the power of the state to enforce their dogmas at the cost of civil liberties and basic human dignity. Let's stick to our agenda...

   ¶  We are not opposing the right of Rev. Phelps, his church, or anyone else to express themselves in the public square. We are exercising our right to free speech by opposing this agenda! "Bad" expression is best met not through censorship, but through "good" expression. That's where we come in!

   ¶ Remember, the media will be there too... The people who support Rev. Phelps and his message often want us to look bad in the media. Let's not take the bait! We're not demonstrating in order to shock people; we are conducting a peaceful protest to make a clear, reasoned statement about our opposition to religious bigotry.

   ¶  Signs and banners will be available. But if you bring your own, please use appropriate content in keeping with the theme of our demonstration. We suggest that you avoid mounting them on poles or sticks, anything which could be interpreted as being a weapon. Please follow directions during this demonstration! In addition, let us know in advance if you have any special needs, or require further information.

   The First Amendment gives Rev. Phelps, and the rest of us, the right to express our opinions in the public square. By protesting, we're simply exercising the same right as Phelps and his church group -- we are peacefully gathering to express our opposition to homophobia and his bigoted religious agenda. We'll defend his right -- or anyone else's -- to speak out (would he do the same for us? Hmmm....) But we will use that same right to express our views on behalf of enlightened secular values, freedom from religious dogma, and freedom from church-state intrusion of any kind into our bedrooms, homes and personal lives.

Is Rev. Phelps correct when he says that the Bible condemns homosexuality?

   The Bible does indeed have stories and verses which condemn homosexual behavior as sinful. Some modern Christians are deeply divided over this issue; they have tried to "explain" the offending passages in a different light, or even edit out these stories (and other language) in yuppified verse. That's their problem, not ours. Many fundamentalists believe that homosexuality is a "sin," and there are even extreme Christian Reconstructionists who preach the death penalty for "sodomy" and other transgressions. These folks are, in our opinion, a very persuasive argument for why the rest of us must work to preserve freedom from religion, and the separation of state and church in America!

   We should also recognize that even many Christians find Rev. Phelps and his teachings against gay men and women to be repugnant. We congratulate them for opposing this bigotry, and hope that they will also speak out against Phelps and his church.

Phelps and others say that public schools are "teaching homosexuality" to children. Is this right?

   In Provincetown and other communities throughout the nation, schools have programs which are designed to combat bias in general whether it is based upon race, gender, class or sexual orientation. In addition, one's sexual orientation is probably not "taught" or learned behavior. What is often learned, though, are racism, sexism and other forms of bigoted, authoritarian behavior. Much of this is deeply rooted and reinforced through religious xenophobia. Gay men and women have been victimized, even physically assaulted and in some cases murdered, because of their sexual orientation. This thuggish behavior needs to be condemned; and the ideas and prejudices underlying this behavior should be challenged.

Is this a state-church separation issue?

   It certainly has the potential to be a crucial First Amendment issue. Anti-gay legislation often seeks to exclude gay men and women from equal protection; some proposals would discriminate in the work place, military or other endeavors. Laws against voluntary sexual behaviors clearly represent efforts to impose Bible morality onto society.

So, what's your message to Rev. Phelps and others who take this intolerant, homophobic position?

   "Mind your own business!" would be a good start. Voluntary sexual behavior, and certainly one's sexual orientation, should not be the concern of governments or religious groups. We are also "sending the message" that public schools should be free from invasive prejudices of groups which seek to promote a religious agenda -- one which, in this case, is clearly homophobic and bigoted.

You're asking other groups to join in this demonstration... why?

   American Atheists encourages other atheist and freethought groups to become active in the public square. And we certainly have no objection to working with them, or others, on an ad hoc basis. They have the right to do the same; but cooperation, now or in the future, requires mutual respect and a recognition that we have a right to organize our own exclusive activities -- and to work with others when we choose to. Not everyone will agree with our tactics and agenda. That's fine. But we still encourage these groups to be more vocal in promoting freedom of the mind and state-church separation.

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