Anti-gay message stirs ire in town
Placerville leaders have declared a hate-free zone in response to religious group's campaign.
By Cathy Locke -- Sacramento Bee

The issue of gay marriage has sparked heated debate about moral values and public image in a foothill community where making visitors feel welcome is important to the economy.

Last week, the sparring moved from sidewalk demonstrations and freeway banners to Town Hall as Placerville City Council members issued a proclamation declaring theirs a "hate-free and discrimination-free city." The message will be reinforced publicly today during a 2 p.m. rally on the steps of the El Dorado County Courthouse on Placerville's Main Street.

In the discussion that followed Tuesday night's proclamation, gays and lesbians as well as those opposing gay marriage described themselves as victims in a clash of basic rights: freedom of speech versus life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"I think many of the people who spoke against the proclamation weren't aware that it is not a law and is not legally binding," said Mayor Roberta Colvin. "It is more asking the people to do the right thing."

The right thing, according to a religious group calling itself GaymarriageNO, is to declare what it contends is the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality and gay marriage.

Using "truth trucks," pickups bearing signs declaring "Homosexuality is sin," and the universal "no" symbol superimposed on a photo of two men kissing, the group has passed out literature along city streets, in front of schools and at community events. Members also have displayed their message on banners from a Highway 50 overpass.

Through its Web site, the group urges a boycott of local businesses that it says advertise in gay newsletters or that it deems "gay friendly."

"We believe our duty as a church is to spread God's word in the public square," said Dick Otterstad, a resident of the rural community of Garden Valley and a leader of the Placerville-based group.

"Homosexual marriage has come up as the key cultural issue being debated in this nation," he said.

Otterstad said his church isn't affiliated with any denomination and that the members meet in homes. The group began what he described as an educational campaign about a year ago, after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized issuance of marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

Otterstad acknowledged his group's message and tactics are provocative. He said members of his church do not hate gays but want them to change their lifestyle.

But many in the historic Gold Rush city once known as Old Hangtown say they don't appreciate the group's high-profile activities.

Matthew Huckabay, a representative of the Placerville Downtown Association and owner of a business on the boycott list, said he first noticed the GaymarriageNO trucks about 10 months ago. For many in the community, he said, concern about the group's activities was heightened after a confrontation at El Dorado High School last month ended in the arrest of a GaymarriageNO representative.

People also were upset when members of the group distributed literature during a candlelight march in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, sponsored by the El Dorado Community Round Table on Human Rights.

The Round Table, a volunteer organization, was formed 12 years ago to promote tolerance and diversity following racial incidents in the county.

Last week's proclamation was issued at the Round Table's request.

"Signs and protests are one thing," Huckabay said, "but when they harass students at school and it escalates to the point of violence, the right to freedom of speech stops."

Otterstad said a member of the church group was arrested on battery charges, which have been reduced to creating a public nuisance.

The county Chamber of Commerce endorsed the City Council's proclamation, not because of GaymarriageNO's business boycott, members said, but because the group's signs, banners and tracts give visitors the impression the community endorses bigotry and hatred.

"As representatives of the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, this issue disturbs us," Mike Kobus, a Placerville business owner and member of the chamber's board of directors, told the City Council.

"Signs expressing hate of a specific lifestyle are not a way to greet people," he said.

Laurel Brent-Bumb, the chamber's chief executive officer, said she has received letters, phone calls and e-mails from people who have passed through town expressing "frustration and angst over the derogatory signs."

GaymarriageNO members have a right to free speech, she said, but their tactics are wrong and will have an economic impact on the county.

Although supporters of the proclamation were in the majority among more than 100 people at the council meeting, members of GaymarriageNO and others said criticism of the gay lifestyle and gay marriage should not be construed as hate speech. Their message, they said, is aimed at what they consider a harmful lifestyle; they likened it to medical warnings against tobacco use.

Even conservative churches in the community have been targeted by GaymarriageNo. Don Pritchard, pastor of the Solid Rock Faith Center in Diamond Springs, said the group parked its "truth truck" at his church on a recent Sunday.

"They think they have a mandate to call churches out of slumber," said Pritchard, whose congregation is affiliated with the Pentecostal Church of God.

Otterstad said his group sent letters to pastors of Placerville-area churches to enlist their participation in GaymarriageNo activities but received little response. Churches today, he said, are more focused on inviting people into the church than preaching on street corners.

Although Pritchard does not dispute Otterstad's interpretation of the biblical view of homosexuality, he said he disagrees with GaymarriageNO's tactics.

The signs on the truck disturbed parents who brought their children to Sunday school not expecting to be confronted with the group's message, Pritchard said.

He said the group wanted him to encourage church youths to help get its message into the schools. Pritchard refused, saying children should not be used as pawns to convey either gay or anti-gay messages.

Members of GaymarriageNO, he said, should not be surprised by the city's decision to take action.

"When you get up in people's faces," he said, "you're going to get a response."

The city's response was praised by residents and church leaders. Bob Olmstead, a United Methodist pastor and newcomer to the city, said, "I applaud the council in working to make this the community we thought it was when we so recently moved here."

Steve Shortes, a deacon at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, told the council, "I laud what you are doing. I wish you didn't have to do it."

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1...-13192638c.html

These folks are clueless and absolutely don't get it. And sorry, but I'm tired of this "hate the sin, love the sinner" stuff. It's BS. If you are taking actions that are hostile to gay people, then, as far as I'm concerned, you hate gay people. Saying you don't is disingenious.

All in all though, this is a nice, hopeful story.

The antidote for this poison is for every community to have a bigger and better human relations campaign stressing Empathy, Respect and
Affirming the individual person.