Poughkeepsie Journal

Monday, April 5, 2004

9 protest gay marriage
Counter-demonstrators outnumber Kansas group

By Rasheed Oluwa
Poughkeepsie Journal

Kathy McLaughlin photos/Poughkeepsie Journal

An anti-gay group out of Kansas weaved their way through the Village of New Paltz Sunday morning with signs in hand and trails of police and counter-demonstrators behind them.

But by the time the nine protesters from the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church left to go to their next stop in Nyack, the event had become little more than a shouting match.

''It's funny, because there are so many of us and not too many of them,'' said Karen Walcott, one of hundreds of New Paltz-area residents who protested the Westboro group's demonstration.

The Westboro Baptist Church, founded in 1955 by the Rev. James Phelps, describes itself as an old-school Baptist church.

The group has conducted more than 22,000 anti-gay demonstrations and is known for brandishing colorful signs with messages like ''AIDS is God's Curse,'' ''Repent or Perish'' and ''God Hates America.''

Nearly 100 police officers from New Paltz, state police, Ulster County Sheriff's Department, Town of Lloyd and the Town of Ulster provided security at the event. No incidents were reported, New Paltz police said.

The Village of New Paltz has caught the group's ire for hosting gay marriages. New Paltz Mayor Jason West has been charged with 24 misdemeanor counts after he allegedly conducted same-sex marriages for couples without licenses.

Making a case

''We love these people enough that we're going to come here peacefully and talk to them,'' Katherine Hockenbarger, one of the nine protesters, said while stepping on a wet, crumpled American flag. ''How is it hateful for us to spend our resources to come here, and tell these people that they're going to hell?''

Janine Ermilio, who attended the demonstration with her partner, Joy Carlock, said it was important for her to show up and speak out against the church. ''I just came because a little bit can go a long way in all facets of life,'' said Ermilio, a New Paltz resident. ''So why not show my support for something I believe in?''

West said he was pleased with the turnout in the village Sunday, as crowds of counter-demonstrators met to confront the Westboro group at the St. Joseph Catholic Church, the group's final stop in the village.

Throughout the village, they posted signs on local businesses reading ''Love is all you need.''

The New Paltz Equality Initiative, a grassroots group in charge of planning gay marriages in the village, also held a festival on the campus of the SUNY New Paltz immediately following the demonstration.

''I think the fact that people gave up their Sunday morning to come here and make sure that these homophobes don't cause too much of ruckus says a lot about our community,'' West said.