Protest against Scott Lively goes national: join us Wednesday!

In December of 2010, WMA Jobs with Justice coordinator Jon Weissman sent an email to the Arise list-- did we know that the person who had opened a storefront church only a few doors from Arise was the notorious homophobe and hatemonger Scott Lively?  he has never been far from our minds since then, and we continue to organize against his messages of hate. 

“Stop the Hate and Homophobia Coalition” Organizes Nationwide Protest Calling for an End to Scott Lively’s Promotion of Hate against the Gay Community Worldwide

What:     Action/Rally

When:    March 14, 2012pm at 1:30pm

Where:   In front of the Federal Building, 300 State Street, Springfield

In early February 2012 the Ugandan government reintroduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (AHB), a.k.a the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill, legislating draconian measures against its gay community, which continues to include the death penalty for homosexual acts.  One week following the reintroduction of this legislation the Ugandan government raided a peaceful gay rights conference causing the sponsor’s leader to go into hiding.  The LGBT community of Uganda is under increasing threats of violence, imprisonment and stigma.  American evangelical Christians played a role in stirring the anti-homosexual sentiment that culminated in the initial AHB legislation in Uganda and continues to heightened homophobia in that country today.

Scott Lively was one of three evangelical leaders who presented at a 2009 conference in Kampala, Uganda which resulted in the original Anti-Homosexuality Bill’s introduction just one month later.  Scott Lively likened his appearance to “a nuclear bomb against the gay agenda in Uganda.”  From his home base at the Abiding Truth Ministries housed in the Holy Grounds Coffee Shop at 455 State Street in Springfield MA, Scott Lively’s anti-gay message filled with lies, propaganda and pray-away-the-gay quack science fuels anti-homosexual sentiment worldwide.

The Stop The Hate & Homophobia Coalition had an action against Scott Lively on November 18, 2011 to help educate the people of Springfield, MA about just who Scott lively is.  The protest on March 14^th is a continuation of that action.  National solidarity actions also are scheduled for Kansas City, Washington DC, and Sacramento.  We will continue to advocate against the hate and homophobia Scott Lively and others promote until they stop.

The Stop the Hate and Homophobia Coalition was formed in January 2011 upon learning that Scott Lively was living and ministering in Springfield.  Lively is president of the Abiding Truth Ministries, which has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and he has been running the Holy Grounds Coffee House on State Street, right near Commerce High School.  The coalition deplores hateful messages and actions, and calls for community education about the impact of homophobia on our communities, as well as calling for community leaders, neighbors, co-workers, family members, etc. to speak out against homophobia whenever it is perpetrated.  The coalition involves a number of community-based organizations, local college professors and students, members of the faith community and individual community members. 

Bullies, suicides and suspensions

Massachusetts Rep. Alice Wolf, D-25th Middlesex, has introduced legislation that would rein in the out-of-control rate of school suspensions. A a hearing on the proposed bill will take place this Tuesday, 6 pm., at the Springfield Science and Technology High School, 1250 State St.

The purpose of the hearing, sponsored by the Graduation and Drop-Out Prevention and Recovery Commission, is to solicit information on the effect of school suspensions, and to build support for Wolf's bill, "An Act to help students stay in school."

Some bullets from the hearing fact sheet:

• Many Massachusetts school districts exclude students from school for non-violent misconduct that does not threaten student and school staff safety.
• African-American students are six times more likely to be excluded, often for the same infractions that bring lesser discipline for non-minority kids.
• Last year, 64,000 kids were excluded from school in Massachusetts, with 4,200 exclusions of longer than ten days. Many exclusions go unreported.
• School exclusion is strongly linked to students dropping out of school.

The Stay in School Act would limit school suspensions to 90 school days in most cases, and limit suspensions to 10 days unless students assault staff, bring weapons to school, deal drugs or engage in other felonious behavior. It would also require a written explanation of the suspension, and allow parents the right to appeal.

The timing of this hearing in Springfield couldn't be more ironic. On April 6, Springfield student Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hung himself in response to bullying in school. He was eleven years old. Ten days later, another eleven year old Georgia boy hung himself for the same reasons. Bullying is serious business and the cruelty that some children endure produces lifelong scars. Yet are suspensions the best answer to this problem?

Charles M. Blow at the NYTImes wrote a sad and chilling column this week about the effect of homophobic bullying on children, with statistics to break your heart. The main focus of bullies seems to be boys who are perceived as "gay"-- that is, kids who enjoy music, like to read, like to dance or who otherwise don't fit the lowest common denominator of masculinity, and kids who are bullied for their appearance.

These realities have not stopped the Massachusetts House, however, from taking away 40% of the funds earmarked for suicide prevention programs for gay and lesbian youth in next year's budget.

Every parent in Springfield needs to have a conversation with their kids about the rights of all children to be who they are and look the way they look. Every school in Springfield needs to have the same conversation. Unless we can find a way to increase tolerance among our children and ourselves, more tragedies are just around the corner.