Gays (from Soulforce Christian group) Arrested At Falwell Run University

[Ian David]

Soulforce Freedom Riders arrested at Falwell's Cult Training Compound

Gays Arrested At Falwell Run University
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
March 10, 2006 - 5:00 pm ET


(Lynchburg, Virginia) Twenty members of the Soulforce the Equality Ride were arrested Friday as they attempted to discuss LGBT civil rights with students at Liberty University.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the university's chancellor warned Wednesday that members of the non-denominational group were not welcome at the school. (story)
http://365gay.com/Newscon06/03/030806ride.htm

Campus police, on instructions from Falwell, were waiting Friday as the bus carrying the Equality riders stopped in front of the campus. As members, mostly young people, one by one read from a prepared statement and then stepped onto the grounds they were arrested and charged with trespassing.

Liberty University is the first stop for the Equality Ride.

Thirty-five young adults are crossing the country visiting schools that ban the enrollment of LGBT students. Outside Liberty University they were met by about 30 supporters.

More:
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/03/031006ride.htm

See related thread:

Equality Ride
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=622106


See also:

Soulforce activists arrested at Libert University
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834640350&path=

Gay Rights Activists Arrested In Lynchburg
http://wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=47524

[peacebird]

1. damn - that's an hour away from here. I would have been there to support

them if only I had known about it. :cry:

Falwell the "reverend" knows NOTHING about the teachings of Christ.

[leveymg]

3. Falwell is a Know-Nothing

If this were the 1950s, he would have had them arrested for being Blacks who don't work in the dormitory mess hall.

[Trillo]

2. Odd how speech can be limited when

on someone else's private property. How can any "school" be considered totally private property, unless all students in residence at the school are partial owners?

[Critters2]

5. Does Liberty get federal funds?

[Ian David]

6. Falwell receives MILLIONS in faith-based funding from OUR taxes

In fact, we're building him his own freeway exit that costs about as much as it would have to fix one of the levees in New Orleans before Katrina.

[Trillo]

9. That's a great point. How can a private school on private property

be considered private when they receive any government funding whatsoever.

Only through accounting shenanigans and government corruption is my answer.

[Ian David]

11. Think about the USSC decision on The Solomon Amendment

The Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules.

If colleges want taxpayer money, they have to allow the recruiters.

If Falwell wants taxpayer money, they should have to allow taxpayers.

[SongOfTheRayne]

4. Such astounding ignorance and senseless dicrimination...

:nopity: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mount the death of liberty, justice, and equality... We will now inter the body of the deceased...

n.........
...........__________:cry: :cry::cry:
| Freedom|
| Equality|
| Justice |
|_HOPE__|

[Ian David]

7. They'll sue to force THEIR creationism in OUR schools...

but they won't let taxpayers into their own tax-subsidized, tax-exempt cult-training hategroup compounds.

They force THEIR dogma into OUR bedrooms, yet they arrest us when we show-up on our faith-based-initiative-funded campus parking lots.

[TrogL]

8. This is part of an ongoing war between Falwell and Mel White

(speeling and added link)

http://www.soulforce.org/

White used to write Falwell's speeches. http://www.soulforce.org/article/11

[Ian David]

12. Let's get Falwell, White, Olberman and O'Reilly all in a room together n/t

[momster]

20. Oooh, yeah!

Let's put it on Pay-Per-View. I'd stump up the cash!

Betting on a KO in the first round....

[CovertOP]

10. Ain't that

a repeat performance of the State of the Union address?
Group arrested at "Liberty" University.
Cindy arrested while Jesus Jr. spews forth about "freedom".

[HuffleClaw]

13. "schools that ban the enrollment of LGBT students." ???

erm, what happened to the bill of rights?

[RC]

15. What happened to the Bill of Rights?

Have you read the Patriot Act lately?

[NaturalHigh]

19. These are private schools.

They were protesting here in Oklahoma too. Private schools don't have to follow the same federal guidelines as state schools.

[xchrom]

14. wooohooo -- protesting them at their source!

take the protests t the bastards!

i hope next time people show up in such numbers they can't all be arrested!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[customerserviceguy]

18. This school played into Soulforce's hands

If there were no arrests, there would have been no story. I read about the Soulforce group in Deb Price's column on the Detroit News website, this arrest gives them the publicity they need to get major national exposure. It would be great to see future arrests on the national news. That's how the civil rights movement got its victories back in the Sixties, gay rights needs to follow the same path.

[megatherium]

16. Liberty University is accreditated.

I guess accreditation doesn't consider freedom of inquiry or speech.

[Moloch]

17. Gay Activists Arrested at (Falwell's) Liberty University

LYNCHBURG, Va. — More than 20 gay rights activists were arrested on trespassing charges Friday when they stepped onto the campus of Liberty University, the school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.

Many of the activists were part of Soulforce, a Lynchburg-based group on its first stop of a nationwide "Equality Ride" tour to promote gay rights at the nation's conservative Christian universities and military academies. Most of those arrested were members of the tour, but the group also included supporters from other colleges and the community.

Invoking the memory of the civil rights movement, Soulforce member Jacob Reitan said: "We want to come to the school today to say, 'learn from history."'

"We have a right to be here, because this school teaches that being gay is being sick and sinful," said Reitan, co-director of Equality Ride. "We have a right to question and to show how we are children of God."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_re_us/gay_rights_liberty_2
(Edited to remove fauxnews link)